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LITEEATURE 


EDITED    BY 


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VOL.  IV -CHRISTIAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 


NEW  YORK  :    EATON    &    MAINS 
CINCINNATI:  CURTS  &  JENNINGS 


PUBLISHERS'  ANNOUNCEMENT. 


The  design  of  the  Publishers  and  Editors  of  the  Biblical  and 
Theological  Library  was  declared,  before  either  volume  of 
the  series  had  appeared,  to  be  the  furnishing  of  ministers  and 
laymen  with  a  series  of  works  which  should  constitute  a  compen- 
dious apparatus  for  advanced  study  on  the  great  fundamental 
themes  of  Christian  Theology.  While  the  doctrinal  spirit  of  the 
separate  works  was  pledged  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  accepted 
standards  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  it  was  promised  that 
the  aim  should  be  to  make  the  entire  Library  acceptable  to  Chris- 
tians of  all  evangelical  Churches.  The  following  works  have 
already  appeared : 

Harman — Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. 

Terry — Biblical  Hermeneutics. 

Bennett — Christian  Archeology. 

Miley — Systematic  Theology.     2  vols. 

Crooks  and  Hurst — Theological  Encyclopedia  and  Meth- 
odology. 

Hurst — History  of  the  Christian  Church.     Vol.  I. 

The  second  volume  of  Bishop  Hurst's  History  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  is  in  advanced  preparation,  and  is  expected  to  be 
put  to  press  in  1898.  Dr.  Rishell's  work  on  the  Evidences  of 
Christianity  is  approaching  completion.  A  few  other  works  will 
follow  these,  in  order  to  complete  the  circle  of  fundamental  theo- 
logical science  as  originally  contemplated  by  the  Publishers  and 
Editors. 

The  reception  which  has  been  accorded  these  works  has  been 
so  prompt,  cordial,  and  sympathetic  that  the  Publishers  are  led 
to  believe  that  the  Christian  public  is  satisfied  that  the  pledges 
made  at  the  outset  have  been  faithfully  kept. 

Li  every  treatise  in  the  future,  as  in  those  of  the  past,  the 
latest  literature  will  be  recognized  and  its  results  incorporated. 
May  we  not  hope  that  the  same  generous  favor  with  which  mem- 
bers of  all  evangelical  denominations  have  regarded  the  undertak- 
ing from  the  beginning  will  be  continued  throughout  the  series  ? 


TlIK   GOOD    SHEPHERD.       LATEI5AN    MUSEUM,    HOME. 


^m  ui-  pf?/,v^ 


Christian  Arch^ 


0  1932 


"k 


CHARLES  W.  BENNETT,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF   HISTORICAL  THEOLOGY    IN    GARRETT   BIBLICAL  INSTITUTE,    EVANSTON,   ILLINOIS 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTICE 

BY 

DR.  FERDINAND  PIPER 

PROFESSOR   OF   CHURCH    HISTORY   AND   CHRISTIAN   ARCHEOLOGY   IN   THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   BERLIN 


SECOND  EDITION 


REVISED 
BY        , 

AMOS  WILLIAMS  PATTEN,  D.D. 


NEW    YORK:    EATON    &    MAINS 
CINCINNATI  :  CURTS  &  JENNINGS 


Copyright,  1898,  by 
New  York. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE. 


TT  is  with  much  diffidence  that  I  send  forth  upon  its  mission 

this  work  on  Christian  Archaeology.  I  will  let  that  veteran 
Christian  archaeologist,  Dr.  Piper,  my  much-revered  instructor, 
speak  of  the  need  of  some  such  book  as  this.  In  the  Introduc- 
tory Note,  which  he  has  had  the  great  kindness  to  furnish,  the 
scope  and  value  of  this  Discipline  are  sketched  in  his  own  inimi- 
table style.  While  the  master  speaks  it  behooves  the  pupil  to 
keep  silence. 

The  arrangement  is  a  departure  from  the  usual  one.  I  have 
thought  that  by  giving  the  Archaeology  of  Christian  Art  the  first 
place  in  the  discussion,  the  results  of  this  study  could  best  be 
utilized  in  the  illustration  of  the  Constitution,  Worship,  and  Life 
of  the  Church. 

It  only  remains  for  me  to  express  my  sincerest  appreciation  of 
the  kindly  encouragement  and  aid  which  have  been  so  freely 
given  me  both  at  home  and  abroad.  It  would  be  invidious  to 
make  distinctions,  but  to  my  associates  in  theological  instruction, 
to  friends  who  have  helped  me  in  making  the  requisite  travels  for 
personal  study  of  monuments,  to  my  most  highly  esteemed  pre- 
ceptor and  guide  in  the  Berlin  University,  and  to  those  who  have 
assisted  in  the  proof-readings  and  indexing,  I  would  express  my 
especial  obligations.  If  careful  readers  of  the  work  would  com- 
municate to  me  any  errors  which  they  may  discover,  it  would  be 
regarded  as  a  personal  favour,  as  well  as  help  to  the  attainment 
of  truth. 

Garbett  Biblical  Institute,  Evanston,  III. 


REVISER'S  NOTE. 


SO  tlioroughly  and  with  such  scliolarly  accuracy  did  Dr.  Charles 
W.  Bennett  accompHsh  his  great  work  that  alteration  has 
been  for  the  most  part  unnecessary.  Except  in  those  lines  where 
they  might  be  naturally  expected,  as  the  result  of  the  progress  in 
archaeological  research  within  the  last  ten  years,  few  changes  have 
been  required.  Dr.  Bennett  left  numerous  notes  and  suggestions 
which,  as  far  as  possible,  have  been  incorporated  into  the  revision. 

Attention  has  been  given  principally  to  Books  I  and  III :  The 
Archaeology  of  Christian  Art  and  The  Archaeology  of  the  Sacra- 
ments and  Worship  of  the  Early  Christian  Church.  Books  II 
and  IV  remain  substantially  unchanged. 

I  have  to  express  my  thanks  to  Dr.  Nikolaus  Miiller,  my 
friend  and  teacher,  successor  to  the  late  Dr.  Piper  in  the  chair 
of  Church  History  and  Christian  Archaeology  in  the  University 
of  Berlin,  who  has  not  only  given  many  valuable  suggestions, 
but  who  also  placed  at  my  disposal  his  rich  collection  of  squeezes 
from  the  Christian  monuments  and  granted  me  the  freedom  of 
the   Christian   Museum   and   of   the  Archaeological    Library   of 

the  Berlin  University. 

Amos  Williams  Patten. 
Hyde  Park,  Chicago. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


AT  the  invitation  of  the  esteemed  author,  I  write  a  few  words  of 
introduction  to  this  volume.  It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  greet  the 
first  work  on  Christian  Archaeology  which  has  appeared  on  Amer- 
ican soil.  With  hearty  good  wishes  I  welcome  it  to  a  position  of 
prominence,  even  before  it  has  come  into  my  hands.  At  the  same 
time,  I  cannot  be  in  doubt  in  regard  to  its  character.  The  ac- 
quaintance I  have  with  the  method  of  the  author's  studies,  his 
protracted  connection  with  our  University,  his  travels  in  the  Old 
World  and  their  purpose,  give  assurance  of  its  solid  worth.  Since 
numerous  plates  and  illustrations,  as  well  as  several  maps,  accom- 
pany the  text,  the  work  comes  to  have  the  character  of  an  Art- 
Archaeology,  and  will  be  helpful  in  theological  instruction.  Thus 
it  appears  that  the  book  is  designed  for  the  Monumental  section  of 
ecclesiastical  science. 

I.  The  title  itself  is  full  of  significance.  In  Classical  Antiquities, 
where  the  word  dp;\;aioAoym  is  in  common  use,  it  refers  primarily  to 
the  historic  life  of  a  nation,  as  Roman,  Jewish,  etc.  ;  since  the  idea 
of  life  (6  apx^'^o^  f^tog  rfjg  rrdXecog),  as  the  essential  content  of  Political 
Antiquities,  occupies  the  foremost  place.  Onl}^  after  several  modi- 
fications, through  the  development  of  the  "  Archaeology  of  Art "  in 
connection  with  Classical  Antiquities,  has  the  present  character  of 
archaeological  science  been  determined.  By  further  adding  the  In- 
scriptions (which  as  a  whole  are  excluded  from  Classical  Antiqui- 
ties), we  reach  the  Discipline  which  has  too  long  been  neglected  in 
the  department  of  theological  inquiry.  In  view  of  the  progress 
made  in  the  corresponding  philological  fields  of  Archaeology  and 
Epigraphy,  and  of  the  pressing  demands  of  theological  science,  it  is 
evident  that  this  neglect  cannot  much  longer  continue.  In  the 
United  States,  where  an  able  Journal  of  Archaeology  has  received 
support  for  several  years,  a  commendable  zeal  already  exists,  so  that 
the  author's  work  does  not  appear  prematurely  there. 

The  work  is  devoted  exclusively  to  the  first  six  centuries,  although 
the  name  Archjeology  does  not,  in  itself,  have  reference  only  to 
what  is  ancient.     But  for  this  very  reason  we  call  attention  to  tlie 


xvi  INTRODUCTORY   NOTE. 

significance  of  this  field  of  inquiry  for  the  study  of  theology  and 
for  the  service  of  the  Church. 

II.  This  significance  lies,  first  of  all,  in  the  fact  that  it  reveals  a 
source  of  information  which  supplies  a  serious  lack  in  our  knowl- 
edge of  Christian  Antiquity:  for  the  nearer  we  approach  the  be- 
ginnings of  the  Church  the  more  meagre  are  the  literary  sources  of 
evidence.  These,  for  the  most  part,  are  all  which  have  hitherto 
been  taken  into  consideration.  Here,  accordingly,  the  contempo- 
rary monuments  in  stone,  metal,  and  color,  found  by  thousands 
in  all  parts  of  the  world,  especially  in  the  countries  around  the 
Mediterranean,  are  of  immense  assistance.  It  is  the  work  of  the 
archaeologist  to  make  a  critical  examination  of  these,  and  to  de- 
termine their  historic  value.  The  discovery  of  Pompeii  and  Her- 
culaneum  affords  an  illustration  from  Classical  Antiquities  more 
complete  than  had  been  thought  possible.  When  Paciaudi  imme- 
diately thereafter  visited  Herculaneum  and  the  Museum  at  Naples, 
he  exclaimed,  "  O  what  treasures  !  what  wonders  !  "  He  ventured 
to  afiirm  that  by  the  spending  of  a  week  in  the  Museum  he  had 
learned  more  than  by  ten  years  of  previous  study.  In  the  domain 
of  Church  history  nothing  similar  were  possible,  because  through 
the  excavation  of  Pompeii  the  entire  domestic,  civil,  and  religious 
life  was  revealed,  whereas  Church  history  is  chiefly  concerned  with 
the  latter.  Subterranean  discoveries  pertaining  to  the  ancient  life 
of  the  Church  have,  however,  been  made  for  centuries,  and  with 
such  rich  results  that  a  special  theology  of  the  Catacombs  might 
be  compiled  from  them.  And  even  above  ground,  in  recent  years, 
numerous  remains  of  ancient  Christian  architecture  dating  from 
the  flourishing  period  of  the  early  Church  have  been  discovered, 
ruined  cities  of  Central  Syria  which  might  be  characterized  as  new 
Pompeiis. 

But  these  objects  and  these  discoveries  are  of  service  not  to  His- 
toric Theology  alone,  but  every  branch  of  theological  investigation 
has  thereby  been  benefited,  especially  Biblical  Interpretation  and 
Dogmatics,  since  texts  of  Scripture  and  doctrinal  opinions  frequently 
furnish  the  fundamental  thought  expressed  in  these  sculptures  and 
paintings.  Moreover,  the  iconographic  expression,  even  when 
comprised  in  lines  and  colors,  has  a  certain  advantage  over  the 
written,  especially  in  that  frank  unconsciousness  which  is  often  ob- 
scured by  words. 

Hence  it  is  that  however  large  a  share  the  "  holy  building  fa- 
thers "  may  have  had  in  these  ruined  edifices,  all  were  nevertheless 
intended  for  Christian  worshippers  and  grew  out  of  their  needs,  so 
that  their  faith  and  sentiments  are  therein  expressed.     It  was  as 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE.  xvil 

true  then  as  to-day,  that  in  order  to  understand  the  religious  life  of 
a  community  it  is  necessary  to  visit  their  places  of  burial  ;  and 
fortunately  innumerable  cemeteries  of  ancient  Christendom  have 
been  preserved  to  aid  us  in  our  theological  investigations. 

But  all  these  remains  should  not  exist  merely  for  the  purpose  of 
forwarding  the  investigations  of  the  scholar  and  the  theologian.  The 
religious  community  at  large  ought  also  to  derive  enjoyment  and 
profit  from  them.  There  are  no  more  memorable  sites  than  these 
sacred  places  on  the  border-land  between  time  and  eternity,  with 
their  testimonies  in  word  and  symbol  to  the  truth  on  which  the 
ancient  believers  based  their  lives,  and  in  which  they  died.  They 
are  inestimable  gifts,  intelligible  without  learned  interpretation, 
refreshing  to  simple  and  unlettered  Christians,  and  inspiring  even 
to  the  youth  of  the  Church.  On  this  account,  the  founding  of 
museums,  especially  the  systematic  arrangement  and  exhibition  of 
copies  (where  originals  are  not  to  be  had)  for  schools  and  congre- 
gations, has  long  been  a  thing  to  be  desired.  But  this  cannot  be 
effected  unless  theologians  do  their  duty  and  earnestly  devote  them- 
selves to  the  work.  For  this  purpose  a  volume  like  the  present  is 
an  available  help. 

III.  The  appearance  of  this  work  in  the  United  States  is  also  of 
special  significance.  The  monuments  Avhich  are  therein  discussed 
direct  our  thoughts  to  Christian  antiquity.  But,  without  disparage- 
ment to  the  remains  of  a  primitive  civilization  which  are  found  on 
that  continent,  the  governments  and  peoples  of  America  belong  to 
modern  times.  Christian  Archeology  cannot,  therefore,  be  studied 
on  American  soil.  The  consciousness  of  this  fact  is,  of  course, 
there  fully  recognized.  Hence  among  American  scholars  there 
is  a  natural  impulse,  stronger  than  that  for  ordinary  professional 
purposes,  to  study  their  own  first  beginnings  on  this  side  of  the 
sea.  This  is  the  impelling  motive  which  leads  to  the  old  home, 
Europe,  and  the  still  older  Asia.  This  powerful  incentive  readily 
determines  the  American  scholar  to  undertake  the  voyage,  and  he 
reckons  the  journey  short.  This  also  leads  the  professional  theo- 
logian, both  for  practical  and  scientific  purposes,  to  the  memorials 
of"  ecclesiastical  antiquity  to  be  found  in  the  seats  of  primitive 
Christianity,  where,  above  all,  the  theater  of  the  events  affords  the 
best  possible  setting  for  their  history.  Thus  measurably  the  past 
becomes  the  present.  As  a  traveller  in  the  tropics,  while  ascending 
a  high  mountain,  passes  within  a  few  hours  through  all  climatic 
concfitions,  even  to  polar  cold;  so  is  it  possible  for  the  archaeologist, 
as  he  examines  the  sites  and  memorials  of  hisloric  developments,  to 
enter  into  their  spirit  as  an  eye-witness,  and  so  cause  them  again  to 
3 


xviii  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

pass  before  him.  Is  he  concerned  with  the  apostolic  times,  it  is 
certain  that  Paul's  sermon  on  Mars  Hill  is  nowhere  read  so  intel- 
ligibly as  on  the  spot  whore  it  was  delivered,  in  sight  of  the  Acrop- 
olis and  its  temples,  and  looking  out  over  the  land  and  sea.  And 
from  high  ecclesiastical  antiquity,  which  possesses  no  documents 
more  precious  than  the  letters  to  the  Church  in  Smyrna,  and  those 
to  the  Churches  in  Lyons  and  Vienne  concerning  their  martyrs,  we 
may  take  as  examples  the  stadium  at  Smyrna  (whose  site  is  per- 
fectly recognisable)  where  Polycarp  suifered,  and  at  Lyons  the 
crypt  of  St.  Denis  where  the  prisons  of  Pothinus  and  Blandina  are 
shown.  When  authenticated,  these  places  and  a  thousand  others, 
next  to  those  in  the  Holy  Land,  incite  the  theologian  to  make  his 
pilgrimage. 

If  the  poet  sings  of  sacred  Palestine, 

"  It  was  no  strange  desire, 

When  pilgrims  numberless  embarked 

But  at  Thy  sepulcher  to  pray, 

And  kiss  with  pious  zeal 

Tlie  earth  Thy  foot  has  trod," 

it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  American  theologians  in  great 
numbers  leave  their  native  shores  to  visit  historic  sjiots  where  they 
may  view  the  mementoes  of  the  past. 

If,  then,  this  work,  next  to  the  knowledge  which  it  imparts,  may 
also  awaken  among  the  writer's  countrj^men  a  still  stronger  desire — 
following  the  example  of  the  highly  esteemed  autlioi",  who  in  the 
course  of  his  investigations  has  several  times  crossed  the  ocean,  and 
so  gained  the  right  to  speak  from  personal  observation — to  under- 
take that  pilgrimage,  in  order  to  reach  the  origins  of  the  Church 
and  to  get  a  view  of  its  primitive  monuments,  it  will  thereby  render 
another  valuable  service.  Dr.  Ferdinand  Piper. 

Berlin  University. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FIGCKE  PAGE 

Lateral!  statuette  of  the  Good  Shepherd Frontispiece 

1.  Ceiling  decoration  from  Santa  Domitilla,  Kome.    Nokthcote  and  Brownlow.  .  57 

2.  CeiUng  decoration  from  San  Prtetestato,  Eome.    Kraus 58 

3.  Ulysses  and  the  Sirens.    From  the  crypt  of  Santa  Lucina,  Rome.    Northcote 

and  Brownlow 65 

4.  A  Christian  sarcophagus,  with  tragic  masks.    Roller 66 

5.  From  a  Christian  sarcophagus,  decorated  with  dolphins.    Roller 66 

6.  Coin  of  Constantius,  showing  the  mingling  of  heathen  and  Chi-istian  emblems. 

Piper 67 

7.  A  coin  of  Majorian,  fifth  century.    Piper 67 

8.  Amor  and  Psyche,  from  Santa  Domitilla.    Northcote  and  Brownlow 68 

9.  Amor  and  Psyche  with  the  Good  Shepherd.    San  Calisto,  Rome.    Kraus 69 

10.  Genii  in  a  vintage  scene.    A  winged  genius  holding  back  the  veil.    From  a  Chris- 

tian sarcophagus.    Roller 70 

11.  Supposed  encharistic  scene.    Fresco  from  the  oldest  part  of  Santa  Domitilla, 

Rome.    Kraus 79 

12.  The  fish  associated  with  other  Christian  symbols.    From  an  early  Christian  sar- 

cophagus.    Piper 79 

13.  Fresco  from   the  "Chamber  of  the  Sacraments,"  San  Calisto,  suggesting  the 

eucharistic  meal.    Roller 80 

13^  IS'',  13<=.  Ichthus  lamps  from  Salona 81 

14.  Fresco  from  a  Christian  catacomb  in  Alexandria,  representing  the  eucharistic 

meal.    Kraus 82 

15.  The  swastika,  with  Christian  emblems.    Munter 84 

16.  Monogram  on  coin  of  Antheraius,  A.  D.  467.    Piper 8tj 

17.  Various  forms  of  the  cross,  especially  of  the  monogram  of  Christ.    Northcote 

and  Broavnlow 86 

18.  Monogram  of  Christ  on  an  arcosolium  of  San  Calisto,  Rome.    Kraus 86 

19.  The  Constantinian  monogram,  with  palm  branches  and  the  legend  INSIGNO. 

Piper 87 

20.  The  monogram  of  Christ  encircled  by  a  wreath.    M  ukter. 87 

21.  A  jeweled  cross  from  Ravenna.    Piper ^"^ 

22.  The  A  12,  with  monogram  in  circle.    Munter 89 

23.  Monogram  and  A  S2  in  triangle.    Mijnter 89 

24.  A  fl,  with  doves  and  monogram.    From  a  burial  monument.    Piper 89 

25.  Caricature  of  Christ.    A  pagan  graffito  probably  of  second  century.  Palace  of  the 

Caesars,  Rome.    Becker ^^ 

26.  From  an  antique  gem.    A  supposed  caricature  of  the  teaching  Christ.    North- 

cote and  Brownlow ^ 

27.  Coin  of  Alexander  the  Great-an  ass  and  its  foal.    Northcote  and  Brownlow.  9(i 
27°.  Fresco,  the  Good  Shepherd.    Catacomb  of  S.  Nereus,  Rome 09 

28.  Fresco  ceiling  from  Santa  Domitilla,  Rome.    Orpheus  in  center.    Kraus 101 

29.  Christ  raising  Lazarus.    From  a  fresco.    Piper ^'^' 

30.  Fresco  from  the  ceiling  in  a  chamber  in  San  Calisto,  Rome.    Northcote  and 

Brownlow ^^ 

31.  Bust  of  Christ  from  San  Ponziano.    Probably  from  ninth  century.    Northcote 

and  Brownlow 

32.  Bust  of  Christ  from  a  cemetery  of  Naples.    Probably  from  the  sixth  century. 

105 

Northcote  and  Brownlow " 

33.  Bust  of  Christ  from  the  crypt  of  Santa  Cecilia,  cemetery  of  San  Cali.sto.    Kraus  . .  105 

34.  Fresco  from  the  cemetery  Santa  Generosa,  near  Rome.     Christ  with  saints. 

Kraus ^ 


XX  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FIGURE  PAGE 

35.  Virgin  and  Star,  from  Santa  Priscilla,  Rome.    After  photograph  from  Roller...  108 
3G.  Virgin  and  Child,  from  Santa  Domitilla,  Rome,    Northcote  and  Bkownlow...  109 

37.  Virgin  and  Child,  from  Santa  Aguese,  Rome.    Kraus 110 

38.  A  Good  Shepherd,  from  Santa  Generosa.    Kraus Ill 

39.  A  fresco  of  St.  Cecilia,  from  crypt  of  Santa  Cecilia,  Rome.    Kraus Ill 

40.  Vine  ornament  from  San  Calisto,  Rome.    Northcote  and  Brownlow 112 

41.  Mosaic  vine  ornament,  from  mausoleum  of  Galla  Placidia,  Ravenna.    Northcote 

and  Brownlow 113 

42.  Mosaic  of  Christ,  in  archbishop's  palace,  Ravenna.    Kraus 130 

43.  Mosaic  from  the  apse  of  SS.  Cosmas  e  Uaniiano,  Rome.    Schnaase 132 

43'.  Mosaic,  Prophets  and  Magi.    San  Apollinare  Nuovo,  Ravenna 133 

44.  Mosaic  of  Christ,  from  San  Apollinare  Nuovo,  Ravenna.    Kraus 135 

45.  Mosaic  of  Christ,  from  St.  Sophia,  Constantinople.    Schnaase 137 

4G.  Statuette  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Lateran  Museum.    From  an  original  drawing...  140 

47.  Good  Shepherd  with  crook  or  staff,  Lateran  Museum.    From  an  original  drawing.  141 

48.  The  Good  Shepherd.    To  compare  with  Hermes-Kriophoros.    Northcote  and 

Brownlow 142 

49.  Hermes-Kriophoros,  from  Wilton  House.    Northcote  and  Brownlow 142 

50.  Restored  statue  of  Hippolytus.    Northcote  and  Brownlow 143 

51.  A  vintage  scene,  with  Good  Shepherd.    After  Roller 146 

52.  The  translation  of  Elijah.    Kraus 147 

53.  The  history  of  Jonah,  from  a  sarcophagus.    Piper 147 

54.  Early  Christian  sarcophagus.    Kraus 149 

55.  Sarcophagus  of  the  fourth  century.    Kraus 151 

66.  The  fall,  from  sarcophagus  of  Junius  Bassus.    Piper 152 

57.  From  the  Junius  Bassus  monument.    Piper 152 

58.  A  late  sarcophagus.    After  a  photograph  by  Roller 156 

59.  The  Nativity  and  the  offering  of  the  magi.    Kraus 157 

60.  Sarcophagus  from  the  fifth  century.    After  Roller 158 

61.  The  Last  Judgment  in  sculpture.    After  Roller 161 

62.  A  crucifixion.    From  an  ivory.    Kraus 164 

63.  Ivory  carving  from  the  cathedra  of  Bishop  Maximianus,  Ravenna.    Schnaase...  106 
63",  63'\  Ivory  pix.    Berhn  Museum 167 

64.  A  Christian  lamp,  with  Constantinian  monogram.    Northcote  and  Brownlow.  168 

65.  A  so-called  blood-phial.    Kraus 168 

60.  The  house  of  Pansa.    Pompeii .  182 

67.  Atrium  Tuscanicum.    Dehio 183 

68.  Atrium  Displuviatum.    Dehio 184 

69.  Atrium  Displuviatum,  with  covered  compluvium.    Dehio 186 

70.  Heathen  schola.  Via  Appia,  Rome.    Stockbauer 186 

71.  Another  heathen  schola.  Via  Appia,  Rome.    Dehio 187 

72.  Christian  schola  above  San  Calisto,  Rome.    Stockbauer 187 

73.  Form  of  an  early  basilica,  a  bronze  lamp.    De  Rossi 187 

74.  Cella  and  arrangement  of  graves  above  San  Sisto.  Rome.    Schnaase .      188 

75.  Basilica  in  Santa  Generosa,  Rome.    Northcote  and  Brownlow 189 

76.  Groundplan  of  basilica  in  Santa  Petronilla,  Rome.  Northcote  and  Brownlow.  190 

77.  View  of  basilica  in  Santa  Petronilla,  Rome.    Kraus 192 

78.  Plan  of  basihca  from  the  villa  of  Quintilian.    Stockbauer..    .  193 

79.  Palace  of  Diocletian,  Spolatro.    Schnaase 195 

80.  Basilica  from  villa  of  Hadrian,  Tivoli.    Dehio 198 

81.  Another  basilica  from  villa  of  Hadrian.    Dehio 198 

82.  Interior  of  San  Clemente,  Rome.    Lubke  ...    203 

83.  Groundplan  of  San  Clemente,  Rome .   —  204 

84.  Interior  structure,  development  of  cross-ribbed  arches.    Wiegemann.  207 

85.  A  clustered  column.    LiJBKE •      209 

86.  A  Gothic  interior 210 

87.  San  Clemente,  Rome.    Stockbauer .. 211 

88.  Cross-section  of  Basilica  Sessoriana,  Rome.    Stockbauer 2il 

89.  Groundplan  of  the  same.    Dehio  and  Bezold ■. 212 

90.  Groundplan  of  Santa  Pudenziana,  Rome.    Stockbauer..  213 

91.  San  Pietro  in  Vaticano,  Rome.    Front  elevation.    Dehio  and  Bezold      216 

92.  Perspective  interior  of  San  Pietro.  Rome.    Schnaase 217 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  xxi 

FIGURE  p^^p 

93.  Atrium  of  Sylvamis,  Via  Appia,  Eome.    Dehio ois 

94.  San  Lorenzo  fuori  le  mura,  Konie.    Dehio  and  Bezold 009 

90.  Santa  Agnese  fuori  le  mura,  Kome.    Interior  view.    Dehio 223 

96.  Groundplan  of  Santa  Sinf  orosa,  Rome.    Stockbauer 2'2A 

97.  Entablature,  etc.,  of  San  ApoUinare  Nuova,  Ravenna.    Schnaase         ..........  226 

98.  San  Apollinare  in  Classe.    Schnaase 1^27 

99.  Sau  Apolliuare  in  Classe.    Interior  view.    Schnaase 228 

100.  St.  Demetrius,  Thessalonica.    Cross  section.    Stockb.\uer 230 

101.  Basilica  at  EI-Barala,  Central  Syria,    de  Vogue '...232 

102.  Church  at  Tourmanin.  Central  Syria,    de  Vogl'e 233 

103.  Baths  of  Diocletian.    Stockbauer 237 

104.  Temple  of  Romulus,  Via  Appia,  Rome.    Stockbauer 240 

105.  Groundplan  of  St.  George,  Thessalonica.    Stockbauer 242 

106.  St.  George,  Thessalonica.    Exterior  view.    Schnaase 242 

107.  San  Vitale,  Ravenna.    Interior  view.    Schnaase 243 

108.  San  Vitale,  groundplan.    Schnaase 244 

109.  Sau  Vitale,  longitudinal  section.    Schnaase 245 

110.  Capital  from  San  Vitale.    Lubke 246 

111.  Capital  from  St.  Sophia,  Constantinople.    Lubke 246 

112.  SS.  Sergius  and  Bacchus,  Constantinople.    Stockbauer 247 

113.  Hall  in  ancient  Roman  palace.    Dehio 247 

114.  Section  of  St.  Sophia.    Stockbauer 251 

115.  Section  of  the  Basilica  of  Constantine,  Rome.    Stockbauer 252 

116.  Groundplan  of  St.  Sophia.    Schnaase 255 

117.  St.  Sophia.    Longitudinal  section.    Schnaase 256 

118.  Section  of  Santa  Coustanza,  Rome.    Dehio  and  Bezold 261 

119.  Santa  Maria  Maggiore  Nocera  de  Pagani,  section.    Schnaase 262 

120.  Burial  chapel  of  Galla  Placidia,  Ravenna.    Stockbauer 264 

121.  Section  of  the  same,  SS.  Nazareo  e  Celso.    Dehio  and  Bezold 2C5 

122.  Cathedral  of  Trier.    Schnaase 266 

123.  Graffiti  from  papal  crypt,  San  Sisto,  Rome.    Roller 299 

124.  Cross  in  circle  with  inscriptions.    Mijnter 300 

125.  Column  from  the   Basilica  of  Petronilla,  Rome.     Northcote   and  Bkowx- 

LOW .illK 

125",  125",  125'',  125"',  125",  125'.  Fragments  from  Aquileia  and  the  Abercius  Inscrip- 
tion   303 

126.  Baptism  of  Christ.    Fresco  from  Santa  Lucina,  Rome.    Original  drawing 438 

127.  Another  baptism  of  Christ.    After  Roller 438 

128.  Supposed  baptism.    Fresco  from  Pretestato,  Rome.    After  de  Rossi 439 

129.  A  baptism,  from  San  Calisto,  Rome.    After  Strzygo\vski 440 

130.  A  baptism,  from  San  Calisto,  Rome.    After  de  Rossi 441 

130^  Baptismal  scene  and  inscription  from  Aquileia 442 

131.  A  baptism  on  a  fragment  of  a  glass  cup.    After  Martigny 443 

132.  Baptism  of  Christ.    Mosaic   from  San  Giovanni   in  Fonte,  Ravenna.    Photo- 

graph   '*^ 

133.  Baptism  of  Christ.    Mosaic  from  Santa  Maria  in  Cosmedin,  Ravenna.    Photo- 

graph      **5 

134.  A  baptism,  from  a  fresco  in  Santa  Pudenziana,  Rome.    After  Martigny 446 

135.  A  baptism  of  Christ,  from  a  fresco  in  San  Ponziano,  Rome.    Munter 446 

136.  A  baptistery,  from  a  sarcophagus,  Rome.    After  Dehio  and  Bezold.  ..  .^ 456 

137.  Groundplan  of  a  baptistery  at  Deir  Seta,  Central  Syria.    After  de  Vogue 456 

138.  Vertical  section  of  baptistery  of  San  Giovanni.    Dehio 457 

139.  Vertical  section  of  baptistery  in  Albegna.    Dehio *^ 

140.  An  altar  {mensa)  of  the  fifth  century.    After  Roller 4"3 

141.  A  Roman  columbarium.    After  Guhl ^^ 

142.  A  street  of  tombs  leading  from  Herculaneum  gate,  Pompeii.    After  Guhl 561 

143.  Entrance  to  Santa  Domitllla,  Rome.    Kraus ^ 

144.  A  gallery  in  catacombs.    Northcote  and  Brownlow •'^^ 

145.  Plan  of  Santa  Agnese,  Rome.    Kraus ^ 

146.  An  arcosolium.    Kraus ^ 

147.  Section  of  chamber  and  luminarium.    Northcote  and  Brownlow 566 

148.  Rock-hewn  tombs  at  El-Barah.  Central  Syria,    de  Vogue 567 


xxii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Plate       I.  Gilded  glasses  and  bronze  busts,  representing  Peter  and  Paul 115 

I^  St.  Paul's  Without  the  Walls 121 

"         II.  The  sarcophagus  of  Junius  Bassus.    Photograph 153 

"        II".  The  sarcophagus  of  Junius  Bassus.    Engraving 159 

"       ll^-.  Basilica  San  Lorenzo  Without  the  Walls 201 

"       II' .  Interior  of  S.  Sophia 259 

"       III.  Christian  inscriptions  associated  with  Christian  symbols 279 

"        IV.  Christian  symbols  on  burial  monuments 283 

"         V.  Epitaphs  from  first  half  of  the  third  century . .    287 

VI.  Inscriptions  of  doctrinal  import 291 

"      VII.  Inscriptions  of  Pope  Damasus,  fourth  century 292 

"    VIII.  Epitaphs  of  second  half  of  the  fourth  century 295 

"        IX.  Facsimile  of  the  first  page  of  the  Antiphouarium  of  Gregory  the  Great. . .  347 
"         X.  Numae  from  early  Codices 351 


Map  of  the  Roman  Empire  at  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Justinian,  showing  the  chief 

sites  of  Christian  monuments 22-23 

Map  of  Rome  and  its  environs,  showing  the  location  of  the  catacombs,  principal 

churches,  and  other  important  objects 545 


CONTENTS  AND  ANALYTIC  OUTLINE. 


INTRODUCTION. 

CHAPTEE  I. 

GENERAL  PRINCIPLES. 


1.  Definition 13 

2.  Divisions 13 

3.  Divisions  of  Cliiistian  archaeology. 

(a)  Of  Christian  art 13 

(b)  Of  constitution  and  government 

of  the  Church 14 


(c)  Of  worship  and  rites u 

(rf)  Of  Christian  hfe u 

4.  History  of  archaeology 15 

5.  Kelations  of  Christian  to  classical  ar- 

chaeology   16 

6.  Chronological  limits  and  reasons ....  17, 18 


CHAPTER  II. 

UTILITY  OF  THE  STUDY. 


1.  Connection  of  archaeology  with  history 

of  civilization 19 

2.  Utility  of  archaeology. 

(1)  Has  corrected  chronology 20 

(2)  Has  corrected  false  notions  of 

the  hatred  of  art 20 


(3)  Has  aided  to  correct  the  text  of 

patristic  writings 20 

(4)  Has  helped  to  write  the  history 

of  heresies 21 

(5)  UneoHscious  testimony 21 

(6)  They   liclp   to  ascertain  what 

Christ  taught 22 


BOOK   FIRST. 

ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GEOGRAPHY  AND  CHRONOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART  MONUMENTS. 

1.  Reasons  of  the  rapid  spread  of  the 

Gospel 25 

2.  A  message  to  the  poor 25 

3.  Gained  some  of  the  better  classes 26 

4.  Number  of  Christians  in  the  empire..  26 

5.  Spirit  of  the  new  religion 27 

6.  Adoption  by  the  state 27 

7.  Monuments. 

(1)  Increase  of 28 


(2^  Nevertheless  limited 

.     .    28 

(3)  Ruthless   destruction   of, 

rea- 

sons 

. .  28,  29 

8. 

Monuments  of  first  century 

..  29,30 

9. 

"           "  second  "      

. .  30,  31 

10. 

"  third      "      

..   31-34 

n. 

"           "  fourth    "      

..   34-36 

12. 

"  fifth       "      .... 

.     .36-39 

13. 

"           "  sixth      "      

.   39-41 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART  DURING  THE  FIRST  SIX  CENTURIES. 


1.  Three  chief  questions  involved 42 

A.  The  Jewish  origin  of  the  first 
Christian  converts,  and  the  pecul- 
iarity of  the  Semitic  imagination. 

(1)  First  Christians  of  Jewish  ori- 

gin   42 

(2)  Jewish  exclusiveness 42 

(3)  Depressed  condition  of  Jewish 

people  43 

(4)  This  unfavorable  to  art  culture  43 

(5)  The  second  commandment  does 

not  prohibit  art 43 

(6)  The  temple  site 44 

(7)  Vegetable  and  animal  forms 45 

(8)  The    commandment   a  hinder- 

ance  to  art 45 


(9)  The  Semitic  imagination  impet- 
uous   45,  46 

(10)  Examples  from  Scripture 46 

(11)  Confirmed   from  examples,  the 

teniplc,  sruliituic,  puftry. .  .47.  48 
B.  Diverse    opinions     of    .Irws     and 
Greel<snl;itivf  to  the  nature  and 
revelation  of  God. 

(1)  Hebrew  monotheism  unfavora- 

ble to  arts  of  form 48,  49 

(2)  The  Greel<  mythology,  its  exter- 

nalness,  favorable  to  arts  of 
form 49,  50 

(3)  Illustration  In  St.  Paul's  writ- 

ings    50 


2 


CONTENTS  AND  ANALYTIC  OUTLINE. 


C.  The  growinp;  influence  of  Christian- 
ity, :ui(l  its  ttlect  on  art  culture. 

(1)  tin! versalism  of  the  Gospel 51 

(2)  Powerful  art  influences 61 

(3)  Early  opposition  of  Christians 

to  art — its  extent 52,  53 

(4)  Decorative     ai't    the     earliest 

form 54 

(5)  Originality  of  Christian  art 54 

(6)  Symbolism  of  Christian  art 55 

(7)  The  church  appropriated  what 

was  at  hand 55 

(8)  Decoration    of    burial    monu- 

ments   56 

2.  The  Roman  Catacombs,  decorative  art 

in  the  same 56-58 

3.  Commingling  of  Christian  and  pagan 

elements 59 

4.  The  mythological  element  in  Christ- 

ian art. 

(1)  Barberini  Diptych 60 

(2)  Sarcophagus  of  Junius  Bassus..  6o 

(3)  Greek  manuscript 60 


(4)  Roman  imperial  coin 61 

5.  Types 61 

6.  Heathen  elements  m  Christian  struc- 

tures. 

(1)  Sarcophagi 62 

(2)  Churches 62 

7.  Prophecies   and  preparation— exam- 

ples. 

(1)  Translation     of      Elijah      and 

Apollo 63 

(2)  The  good  shepherd  and  the  ram 

bearer 63 

(3)  Christ  and  Orpheus 64 

(4)  Christ  and  Hi-rcules 64 

(5)  Ulyssrs  and  the  Sirens 65 

(6)  Christ  and  Mars 66 

(7)  Nuniisinatic  t'xaiiiiiles 66,67 

8.  No  Bacchic  nor  amatory  scenes 68 

9.  Amor  and  I'syche  the  tyi)e  of  eternal 

reunion 68,  69 

10.  The  genii 69 

11.  The  phoenix  a  symbol  of  the  resur- 

rection   70,  71 


CHAPTER  III. 

SYMBOLISM  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


1.  General  principles. 

(1)  Definition  of  symbol 

(2)  Not  arbitrary 

(3)  Caution  in  interpretation 

(4)  Canons  of  interpretation 

(5)  Schools  of  interpretation 

2.  Examples— Christ. 

(1)  No     portrait     of    Christ    pre- 

served  

(2)  Tlie  lamb 

(3)  The  fish— the  eueharist 77- 

The  cross  and  crucifix. 

(1)  Pre-Christian 

(2)  Signs  of  the  cross 

(3)  Pre-Constantine  cross 

(4)  Not  of  Indian  origin 

(5)  The  monogram  of  Christ 85- 


(6)  The  Tau  cross. 88 

The  Alpha-Omega  monuments 88 

The  vine 89 

The  Good  Shepherd 90 

This  symbol  not  necessarily  derived. .  91 

3.  The  disciples  and  the  Church. 

(1)  The  dove— its  significance 91 

(2)  The  fish 92 

(3)  The  sheep  and  the  lambs 93 

(4)  The  ship  explained 93 

4.  Other  symbols. 

(1)  The  anchor 93 

(2)  The   palm-tree   and   the  palm- 

branch 93 

(3)  The  crown,  lyre,  peacock,  etc. . .  93 
The  caricatures  of  Christ  and  his  doc- 
trine  94-96 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTING  AND  MOSAICS. 


97 


1.  Earliest  paintings  in  the  Catacombs. 

2.  Similarity  of  Christian  to  heathen 

painting 97 

3.  The  cycle  of  Christian  art  peculiar..    98 

4.  The  principle  of  artistic  balancing..    98 

5.  Naturalness  of  early  Christian  art . .  101 

6.  Two  types  of  Christ  102 

7.  The  later  frescos  depart  from  the 

earlier  type 103 

8.  Reasons  of  this  change 106 

9.  The  orants 108 

10.  No  symbolic  representation  of  the 

Virgin 108 


11.  Various  types  of  the  Virgin. 

(1)  The  Virgin  and  star 109 

(2)  Virgin     and    Child    in    Santa 

Domitilla 109 

(3)  Virgin    and    Child    in    Santa 

AsllCSG  ...      110 

12.  The    Good    Shepherd' and   St.' Ce- 

ciha Ill 

13.  Vine  ornaments 112, 113 

14.  Paintings  on  gilt  glasses 113 

15.  Primacy  of  Peter 113,  114 

16.  Miniatures  and  illuminations 117 

17.  Fragment  of  a  Latin  Bible 118 


1.  General  principles. 

(1)  How  classified 118 

(2)  Nearest  allied  to  painting 119 

(3)  Kinds  of  mosaics 119 

2.  Limited  use  in  the  Catacombs 119 

3.  Utility  of  their  study 119 

4.  Caution  against  restorations 120 

5.  Chronology 120 

6.  Santa  Constanza  in  Rome. 

(1)  Its  style        123 

(2)  Its  description 124 

(3)  Transition   in    style,   and  the 

cause 125 

7.  Chapels  in  San  Giovanni  in  Laterano  124 

8.  Santa  Pudenziana 124 

9.  Santa  Sabina 126 


10.  Saint  Paul  beyond  the  walls 126 

11.  Santa  Maria  Maggiore. 

(1)  Description 126 

(2)  The  teachings  of  these  mosaics  127 

12.  Mosaics  of  Ravenna. 

(1)  San  Giovanni  in  fonte 127 

(2)  Mausoleum  of  Galla  Placidia..  128 

13.  Other  mosaics  of  the  fifth  century. . .  129 

14.  Mosaics  of  the  sixth  century. 

(1)  SS.Cosmas  and  Damian,  Rome, 

description 130 

(2)  San    Apollinare    Nuovo,    Ra- 

venna    131 

(3)  St.  Sophia,  Constantinople .      .  ia5 

(4)  St.  Sophia.  Thessalonica 137 

(5)  St.  Catharme's,  Mt.  Sinai 138 


CONTENTS  AND  ANALYTIC  OUTLINE. 


CHAPTER  V. 

EARLY  CHRISTIAN  SCULPTURE. 


1.  Why  Christiauity  seemed  hostile  to 

sculpture 139 

2.  Why  sculpture  experienced  a  deca- 

dence   139 

3.  No  portraitures  of  Christ 139 

4.  The  Good  Shepherd  in  statuary 140 

5.  Difference  between  the  Good  Shep- 

herd   and   the    ram-bearing 
Mercury. 141 

6.  The  bronze  statue  of  St.  Peter 141 

7.  Statue  of  Hii>polytus,  its   ChiMstian 

origin  questioned 142,  143 

8.  Type  of  Christ  in  Christian  sculpture.  144 


9.  The     decorative    principle    united 

with  the  symbolic  144 

10.  Examples  of  eombnialidii. 

(1)  Translation  of  Klijah 145 

Ci)  The  history  of  .loiiali 147 

11.  Frequency  of  recurrence  of  Scrip- 

tural subjects  148 

12.  Architectural  elements  in  sarcoph- 

agi    150.  151 

13.  The  Junius  Bassus  monument 152 

14.  The  Nativity  in  sculpture 156 

15.  The  Last  Judgment  in  sculpture 161 


CARVINGS  IN  IVORY. 


1.  Ivory  diptychs 162 

2.  Consular  and  ecclesiastical  diptychs.  162 

3.  One  of  the  earhest  representations  of 

the  crucifixion 164 


4.  Carving  on  book-covers 165 

5.  Ivory  pixes    166 

6.  Sculptured  lamps 168 

7.  Ampulla;,  or  blood-phials 169 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 

§  1.  Church  Architecture  During  the  First  Six  Centuries. 


The  primary  Church  edifice 170 

Fourth  century  churches 170 

St.  Sophia  in  Constantinople 171 


Rome  and  Ravenna 

Churches  divided  into  six  classes. 


171 
172 


§  2.  The  Christian  Basilica. 


1.  Origin  of  the  Christian  basilica  : 

(1)  Alberti's  theory  from  the  Ro- 

man basilica 173 

(2)  Zestfrmann's  theory,  aChi-ist- 

ian  development 174 

(3)  His  five  classes 175 

(4»  The  hypsethral  temple 175 

(5)  Messmer's  theory,  from  the 

triclinium 177 

(6)  From  the  private  dwelling —  178 

(7)  From  the  pagan  schola 178 

(8)  An  eclectic  view,  its  discus- 

sion    178-182 

(9)  Relations  of  private  dwellings 

to  churches 182 

(10)  Development  of   the  atrium. 

183-185 

(11)  The  schola  and  burial  guilds. 

186-188 

(12)  The  cellse 188-190 

Origin  of  pagan  Roman  basilica. 

(1)  Form  of  the  law  basilica 191 

(2)  The  apse 193 

Constructive  elements 194 

Erroneous  theories 194 

Earliest  notices  of  Christian  basili- 
cas    196 

The  Christian  Church  an  organism. . .  197 
The  apse  the  unifying  member  in  the 

Christian  basilica 198 

Suggestion   of  the  apse  in  heathen 

structures 198 

Differences    between    heathen   and 

Christian  basilicas 199 


2.  The  parts  of  the  basilica. 

(1)  Tlie  apse  and  its  furniture —  200 

(2)  The  vestibule 203 

(3)  The  transept 205 

(4)  The  triumphal  arch 206 

(5)  The  naves 206 

3.  The  influence  of  the  Christian  basilica 

on  other  forms  of  Christian 
architecture. 

(1)  First  iiernis  of  the  Gothic 207 

(2)  The  unifying  .spirit 207 

(3)  Further  transformations 208 

4.  Some  of  earliest  Christian  churches. 

(1)  Few  pre-Coustantine 209 

(2)  Examples 210-214 

5.  BasiUcas  of  Roman  origin  in  the  time 

of  Constantine. 

(1)  Constantine's  influence 214 

(2)  Few  churches  survive— exam- 

ples    21.5-220 

6.  Some  basilicas  of  the  post-Constan- 

tine  period. 

(1)  Contrasts  between   East   and 

West 220 

(2)  Splendor     of       Constantine's 

reign 221 

(3)  Examples  of  churches 221-224 

Churches  of  Ravenna. 

(1)  Periods  of  architecture  in  Ra- 

venna      225 

(2)  Examples  of  churches  in  each 

period 226-229 

Christian   basilicas   in   other  coun- 
tries   2-.'9-235 


§  3.  The  Central  or  T)omed  Sfi/lc- 


Its  peculiar  home  in  the  East 235 

1.  Origin  of  the  domed  structure. 

(1)  Very  obscure 2.36 

(2)  Resemble  baptisteries 2.36 

(3)  Circular  buildings  in  Constan- 

tine's time 2.38 


Classification  of  domed  structures. 

(1>  With  niches. 238 

(2)  Cniciform  structuics 239 

(.Si  The  simple  rotunda  239 

(4i  With  niches  and  columns— ex-     ^ 
amples 240-24. 


CONTENTS  AND  ANALYTIC  OUTLINE. 


Byzantiue  architecture. 

(1)  Syncretism  in  art 247 

(2)  Valuable  art   services  of  By- 

zantium   249 

(3)  A  product  of  the  Oriental  spirit.  250 

(4)  Two  historic  periods 250 

(5)  Fixedness  of  art  forms  in  the 

second  period— reasons 250 


Saint  Sophia. 

(1)  Difficulties  of  structure 252 

(2)  Vast  preparations 253 

(3)  Description 254-260 

The  circular   structure,  and    exam- 
ples   261-264 

The  cruciform  buildings,  and  exam- 
ples        264-266 


CHAPTER  VII. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  EPIGRAPHY. 


1.  Definitions  and  principles. 

(1)  Early  Christian  use 2G7 

(2)  Increased    interest     in    later 

times 267 

(3)  Value  of  Christian  epigraphy. .  268 

(4)  Number  of  Christian   inscrip- 

tions   268 

(5)  Materials   on    which    inscrip- 

tions are  found 269 

(6)  Kinds  of  inscriptions 269 

Palaeographic  principles. 

(1)  How  inscriptions  are  read 270 

(2)  Punctuation 270 

(3)  Orthography  of  inscriptions ...  271 
Chronology  of  inscriptions. 

(1)  Indictions 272 

(2)  Provincial  eras 272 

(3)  Inscriptions  without  dates 273 

(4)  Special  indications 273 

2.  The  subject  and  content  of  inscrip- 

tions. 

(1)  Pagan   influence  in   Christian 

epigraphy 274 

(2)  BecKer's  four   conclusions  re- 

specting D.  M 275 

(3)  Views  of   death    and   of    the 

futui-e 276, 277 


3.  Application  of  principles  and  their 

illustration. 

(1)  The  magi 278 

(2)  Paradise 278 

(3)  Grants 278 

(4)  The  church 281 

(5)  Tapers  in  church  service 282 

(6)  Other  symbols 282-288 

(7)  The  significance  of  (/o?-mii 289 

(8)  Carele.ssness    in   preparation 

of  inscriiitions 289 

(9)  The  future  life 290 

(10)  The  DaniHsene  inscriptions...  290 

(11)  Prayers  to  the  dead 293 

(12)  The  terms  for  chief  pastor 294 

(13)  Warning  against  hasty  induc- 

tions   297 

(14;  Possible  ignorance  of  Christ^ 
ians  as  to  the  significance  of 
certain  inscriptions 297 

4.  Eulogistic  character  of  later  inscrip- 

tions    298 

5.  The  Orcifflti 298-300 

6.  Epigraphic  and  pictorial  aids  to  his- 

tory illustrated     300 

7.  Inscriptions  in  Aquileia 301 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY. 


1.  Preliminary  considerations. 

(1)  Relations    of     poetry   to    re- 

ligion   .  306 

(2)  Earliest  hymns 306 

(3)  Early  Christianity   prolific   of 

poetic  themes 306 

(4)  Yet  not  favorable  to  metrical 

forms  307 

(5)  The  Psalter  at  first  in  general 

use 307 

(6)  Germs    of  hymnology  in   the 

New  Testament 307 

(7)  The  probable  use  of  hymns  in 

the  second  century 308 

(8)  Miinter's  conclusions 309 

(9)  The  Greek  fathers  favorable  to 

the  use  of  hymns 310 

(10)  Reason    of    the    fewness    of 

hymns 310 

2.  Sacred  poetry  of  the  Syrian  Church. 

(1)  Antioch  the  mother  city 311 

(2)  The  hymns  of  the  Gnostics 312 

(3)  Ephraem     of       Edessa,      his 

methods 312 

(4)  His    poems    numerous,    their 

metrical  principles 313 

(5)  Example  of  his  poetry 313,  314 

3.  The  Greek  hyniuolouy. 

(1)  The  P,r<l<if/ii</u'^  of  Clement. .. .  314 

(2)  Gregory  of  Nazianzen 315 

(3)  Synesius,  his  defects 315 

(4)  Auatolius  and  his  hymns 316 


4.  The  poetry  and   hymnology  of  the 
Western  Church. 

(1)  Two  kinds  of  sacred  poetry 317 

(2)  Lyric    poetry    an    exotic     in 

Rome ...  318 

(3)  High  character    of    Christian 

lyric 318 

(4)  Commodianus,  his  poems,  their 

value 319 

(5)  Lactantius,  Juvencus,  Hilarius 

of  Poictiers       319,  320 

(6)  Damasus,  hymns  of,  and  char- 

acter  321 

(7)  Disturbed     conditions    under 

Coustautiue 322 

(8)  Julian  and  his  policy,  its  ef- 

fects upon  Christian  litera- 
ture     322,323 

(9)  Paulinus  of  Nola,  his  theory  of 

poetry,  and  his  themes..  324,  325 

(10)  Ambrose,  his    education   and 

contributions     to     hymnol- 
ogy   325,326 

(11)  Influence  of  Arian  hymns 326 

(12)  Prudentius,    his     works     and 

their  character 327 

(13)  Fortunatus,  his  poems 329 

(14)  Other  hymn  writers 330 

(15)  Gregory's  hymns  of  doubtful 

genuineness 330 

(16)  Doxologies 330,  331 


CONTENTS  AND  ANALYTIC  OUTLINE. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

EAELY  CHRISTIAN  MUSIC. 


Educational  value  of  Jewish  cere- 
monies   332 

Hebrew  music  lost 332 

First  Christians  familiar  with  Jew- 
ish forms 333 

Greek  influence  powerful 333 

The  old  temple  service  a  partial  con- 
servator   334 

Influence  of  Jewish  sects 334 

The  early  Christians  adopted  what 

was  then  at  hand 335 

Improvisation 335 

Music     not     an    imitation    of    na- 
ture    336 

The  beginnings  of  Christian  music 

uncertain  in  date 336 

Arian  influence 337 

Conciliary  action 337 

Opinions  as  to  this  action 337, 338 

Character  of  the  singing  service 338 

Ambrosian  chant 339 

Changed     circumstances     of     the 

Church— its  effect  on  music.  339 
Music  and  poetry  associated  by  the 

Greeks 340 


18.  The    Greek    musical    notation— its 

complex  character 341 

19.  Eomans  not  patrons  of  art 341 

20.  Christianity  first  developed  the  dia- 

tonic   342 

21.  Ambrose  reduced  the  modes  to  four.  343 

22.  The  modes  and  scheme 343 

23.  Other  musical  writers  — Macrobius, 

Boethius,  etc 344 

24.  Gregory  the  Great,  his  services  in 

reforming  music 345 

25.  The  Authentic  and  TLigal  modes. . .  '.ua 

26.  Explanation  of  these  and  tlic  nature 

of  the  devcldpnunt 346-:«0 

27.  Gregorian  Antiphouanuiu 350 

28.  The  Numae— illustratious  and  trans- 

lations   proposed— the    key 
lost 350-353 

29.  Perpetuations    of    the     Gregorian 

chant— its  originality 354 

30.  Decline   of  music   in    the  Eastern 

Church 354 

31.  Connection  of  religion  with  art  cul- 

ture   355,  356n 

32.  Remarks  of  Cousin 356n 


BOOK    SECOND. 


THE  ARCHAEOLOGY  OF   THE  CONSTITUTION  AND   GOVERNMENT 
OF  THE  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  IN  ITS   IDEA  AND  ORIGIN. 


New  Testament  idea  of  the  Church. 

(1)  A  kingdom 359 

(2)  '^KKATjaia •:i59 

(3)  The  body  of  Christ 360 

(4)  A  temple 3(50 

(5)  The  bride 360 

(6)  A  visible  form... 360 

The  names  applied  to  its  members. 

(1)  Disciples 360 

(2)  Believers 361 

(3)  Brethren 361 

(4)  Opprobrious  epithets 361 

(5)  The   clients  of  their  Master, 

Christ 361 


3.  The  Apostolate. 

(1)  The  triumph  of  the  Chureli. . . .  361 

(2)  No  inspired  form  nf  the  Cliurch 

—disciples  adhered  to  temple 
service 362 

(3)  Charisms 362 

(4)  Christ  alone  was  teacher,  the 

apostles  were  disciples 362 

(5)  A  fellowship 363 

(6)  Apostles  known  to  the  Jewish 

Church 364 

(7)  Otlier  ministers  365 

(8)  The  Twelve— its  significance..  365 

(9)  Other  apostles 366 

(10)  The  first  test  of  apostleship...  366 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  APOSTOLIC  CHURCH— ITS  COMPOSITION  AND  OFFICERS. 


1.  The  apostles  and  deacons. 

(1)  First  officers 367 

i'S)  But  one  order  at  first 368 

(3)  Who  were  the  deacons? 368 

(4)  Gravity  of  their  functions 368 

(5)  Adopted     by      the      Gentile 

churches  also 369 

(6)  Deaconesses 369 

(7)  Diaconate    peculiarly    Christ- 

ian    369 

(8)  The  deacons  also  preached —  370 
(9>  Prior  to  the  first  persecution 

no  formal  Church 370,  .371 

(10)  The  Church  organized 371 

(11)  James,  his  office 371 


Presbyters  and  bishops. 

(1)  First  pertained  to  local  socie- 

ties       372 

(2)  Presbyters  common  to  .Jewish 

and  Christian  societies 372 

(3)  A  eouneil— \vh;it  ? 372 

(4)  The  eiithe  eommimity  had  a 

share  in  the  deliberations.      373 

(5)  Each  congregation   independ- 

ent   •  ■ 373 

(6)  The  i)reshvters  chiefly  officers 

of  administration 373 

(7)  The  early  type  republican,  not 

monarc.liical 3.1^4 

(8)  Presbyters  also  teachers. . .  374,  3i5 


CONTENTS  AND  ANALYTIC  OUTLINE. 


(9)  Presbyters  iu Gentile  churches. 

375,  376 
3.  Essential  identity  of  bishops  and  el- 
ders. 

(1)  Keasous  for  so  believing 376 

(2)  Schaff's  summary  .         376 

(3)  Why  two  terms?  Two  theories 

377,  378 

(4)  Supervisor  of  charities 378 


4.  General  conclusions. 

(1)  Duties  of  officers  at  first  not 

sharply  defined 379 

{'2)  Charisnis  the  first  preparation.  379 

(3)  Clement  makes  no  distinction 

between  bishops  and  pres- 
byters .     380 

(4)  No  trace  of  a  primacy 380 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  POST-APOSTOLIC  CONSTITUTION  FKOM  THE   DESTKUCTION   OF  JERUSALEM  TO 

IREN^US. 


1.  Influence  of  the  death  of  the  apostles 

and  of  the  destruction  of  Je- 
rusalem. 

(1)  Their  vast  importance 381 

(2)  The  destruction  of  Jerusalem 

scattered  tlv  apostles  abroad  381 

(3)  Emancipatcil  the  Church  from 

Jewish  prejudices 381 

(4)  Conii)elIecl  a  more  compact  or- 

ganization    382 

2.  The  Ignatian  episcopacy. 

(1)  Functions  of  a  bishop 382 

(2)  Bishops  and  presbyters  differ 

in  their  derivation 383 

3.  The  Clementine  homilies. 

(1)  A  monarchical  episcopacy 384 

(2)  Bishops  successors  of  the  apos- 

tles   384 

(3)  Arbiter  of  doctrines 385 

4.  The  Shepherd  of  Hennas  and  Poly- 

carp. 
(1)  Distinction    between    the    lay 

and  clerical  element 385 


(2)  No   Catholic  Church  yet  rec- 

ognized    386 

(3)  The  bishop  the  unifying  power.  386 

(4)  Church  letters 386 

(5)  No  priesthood  of  the  clergy  in 

the  New  Testament 387 

(6)  Rise  of  sacerdotalism,  its  ef- 

fects   387 

(7)  The    views    found    in    "  The 

Teaching  " 388 

5.  The  form  of  government. 

(1)  A  congregational  episcopacy..  388 

(2)  The   charism   a  result  of  the 

office  389 

(3)  The  choice  of  bishops! ........  389 

(4)  The  episcopacy  a  development  389 

(5)  Relations  of  laishops  to  each 

other 390 

(6)  Bishop  of  Rome 390 

(7)  Change  in  presbyterial  power.  390 

(8)  Different   authority  of  bishop 

and  presbyter. 390 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  CHURCH  CONSTITUTION  FROM  IREN^US  TO  THE  ACCESSION  OF  CONSTANTINE. 


1.  The  theory  of  Iren?eus. 

(1)  Pec'uliar     conditions     of     the 

Church 391 

(2)  The  (iuostic  threats 391 

(3)  Divisions 391 

(41  Testimony  of   Hegesippus— of 

Irenasus 392 

(5)  The  Church  principle  of  Ire- 

naeus 392 

(a)  Harmony      of      apostolic 

teaching.. 392 

(b)  The    bishops   the    deposi- 

taries of  this  teaching.. .  393 

(c)  A  regular  succession  393 

(d)  Compilation  of  lists  of  bish- 

ops  393 

(6)  Others  in  harmony  with  this 

principle ...  394 

2.  The  influence  of  Cyprian. 

(1)  Unity  of  Church  identical  with 

the  episcopate 394 

(2)  Wliicli  uiiitv  i)roceeds  from  the 

chair  of  St.  Peter's 395 

(3)  Power  and  authority  of  tradi- 

tion   395 


(4)  The  episcopate  no  longer  con- 

gregational but  general 396 

(5)  This  effected  by  ordination....  396 

3.  The  sacerdotal  principle. 

(1)  Growth  of  sacerdotalism 397 

(2)  The  priesthood  of  the  clergy 

came  from  the  priesthood  of 
the  body  of  believers 397 

(3)  Cyprian's  view        397 

(4)  Did  the    sacerdotal   principle 

come   from   the  Jewish    or 
Gentile  Churches? 398 

(5)  Lightfoot's  opinion 398 

(6)  This   is  not  so  clearly  estab- 

lished    399 

4.  The  Apostolic  Constitutions. 

(1)  The  Church  a  divine  state 400 

(2)  OrdinatioUj  how  effected,  and 

its  significance 400 

(3)  The  Church  forms  and  govern- 

ment affected  by  their   en- 
vironments   400 

(4)  Church  government  a  develop- 

ment    400 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  OFFICES   AND  OFFICERS   OF  THE  POST-APOSTOLIC  CHURCH. 


1.  Origin  of  episcopacy. 

(1)  Theories. 

(a)  Of  apostolic  origin 401 

(b)  It  originated  in  household 

societies 402 

(c)  It  was  formed  out  of  the 

presbyterial  office  by  ele- 
vation    402 

(2)  Conclusion ...  403 


2.  The    presbyters,   deacons,    deacon- 
esses, etc. 

(1)  Duties  and  prerogatives 403 

(2)  Limitations  of  the  rights  of  the 

laity 403 

(3)  Functions  of  the  presbyters 404 

(4)  Changes  in  the  functions  of  the 

deacons 404 

(5)  Could  baptize 405 


CONTENTS  AND  ANALYTIC  OUTLINE. 


(6)  Could  not   consecrate  the  eu- 

charist 405 

(7)  When  eligible  to  this  office 405 

(8)  The  number  of  deacons 406 

(9)  The  archdeacon. 

(a)  How  elected 406 

(b)  His  importance 406 

(10)  The  deaconesses. 

la)  Qualifications 406 

(b)  Their  ordination 407 

(c)  Did  not  baptize 407 

(di  Their  duties 407 

3.  Chorepiscopi,  metropolitans,  and  pa- 
triarchs. 

(1)  Divisions  of  the  empire  accept- 

ed by  the  Church 407 

(2)  Subordination  of  officers 408 

(3)  Chorepiscopi. 


(a)  Occasion  of  institution 409 

(b)  Presbyters  or  deacons 409 

(c)  Functions 4ou 

(d)  Sat  in  councils 409 

(4)  Primates. 

(a)  Time  of  origin  uncertain. . .  410 

(b)  How  appointed 410 

(c)  Tlneir  duties 410 

(5)  Patriarchs. 

(a)  Arose  gradually 411 

(b)  Duties. 411 

Suborders  of  the  clergy. 

(1)  Providential  indications 411 

(2)  Subdeacons 411 

(3)  Acolytes 412 

(4)  Exorcists,  their  duties 412 

(5)  Other  inferior  officers,  as  read- 

ers, door-keepers,  etc 412 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

SYNODS  AND  COUNCILS— THEIR  AUTHORITY. 


1.  The  synod  of  Jerusalem 413 

2.  Church  synods  after  the  analogy  of 

civil  leagues 413 

3.  Necessary  to  preserve  Church  unity.  413 

4.  Provincial  synods 413 

5.  Decline  of  lay  influence 413 

6.  Metropolitan  synods 414 

7.  The  representative  principle 414 


8.  (Ecumenical  councils 414 

(1)  Who  assembled  the  councils?.  414 

(2)  Who  presided? 414 

(3)  Subjec^ts  considered 415 

(4)  Metliod  of  voting 415 

(5)  Were  tlicir  decisions  binding?  415 

(6)  Growing    authority  of   concil- 

iary  decisions 415 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CHURCH     DISCIPLINE. 


1.  Reasons  and  degrees  of  punishment. 

(1)  Design  of  church  discipline 416 

(2)  Catechumenical  training  alater 

institution 416 

(3)  The  regnht  fldei 417 

(4)  Church  diseipliur  involved  no 

loss  of  civil  liglifs 417 

(5)  Sins  venial  and  iuortal 417 

(6)  Admonition  and  lesser  excom- 

munication    417 

(7)  The  greater  excommunication.  417 

(8)  Notice  to  other  churches 418 

(9)  Did  not  annul  benefits  of  bap- 

tism    418 

(10)  Eight  of  appeal 418 

2.  Penitential  discipline. 


(1)  The  lapsed 

(2)  Four  orders  of  penitents 

(3)  Special  penitential  presbyter.. 

(4)  Decline  of  the  penitential  sys- 

tem  

(5)  Ceremony  of  readmission 

(6)  Five  stages  of  absolution 

(7)  The  care  of  the  early  Church 

respecting  discipline 

Discipline  of  tlie  clergy. 

(II  More  stringent  "than  lay  disci- 
pline   

(2)  Penalties  inflicted 

(3)  Deposed    clergy  rarely    rein- 

stated   

(4)  Ancient  discipline  wholesome. 


419 
419 
420 

420 
420 
421 


421 

421 


421 

422 


BOOK  THIRD. 

THE    SACRAMENTS     AND     WORSHIP    OF    THE     EARLY    CHURCH. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1.  Nature  of  the  sacraments 425  I  3.  The  number  of  sacraments 426 

2.  Confounding  sacraments  with   mys-  4.  Irenfeus'    view    of    sacrament  and 

teries 425,  426  |  mystery 426u 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM. 

§  1.  The  Origin  and  the  Idea. 

1.  John's  baptism 427  I  3.  The  formula 428 

2.  Christ's  baptism 428  |  4.  Necessary  conditions 4ji 


§  2.  Archccologieal  Evidence. 

1.  The   evidence,   literary  and    menu-        I  3.  Analysis  of  these  cjises.     ...     4.S1 

mental 428    4.  Testimony  of  the  "  Teachmg    4.J1 

2.  New  Testament  baptisms 428  I 


CONTENTS  AND  ANALYTIC  OUTLINE. 


§3. 

1.  Justin  Martyr 43;j 

2.  Clement  of  Alexandria 434 


Testimony  of  the  ^'Fathers." 

3.  Tertullian 434 

4.  Cyprian 436 


§  4.  Monumental  Evidence. 

1.  Fresco  from  Sta.  Lucina 437  15.  Glass  from  Esqniliue 443 

2.  Fresco  from  San  Pretestato 439  |  6.  Mosaics  from  Ravenna 444 

3.  Fresco  from  San  Calisto 440,  441  I  7.  Sta.  Maria  in  Cosmedin 445 

4.  Inscription  from  Aquileia 442  |  8.  Sta.  Fudenziana 446 


§  5.  Subjects  for  Baptism,. 


1.  First  subjects  adults 447 

2.  Infant  baptism— presumptions 447 

3.  Cyprian's  views 44S 


4.  Inscriptions ...  449 

5.  Liberal  practice  of  the  early  Church.  450 


§  6.  Catechumenical  Training  of  Adults  for  Baptism. 


1.  Baptism  immediate  on  profession  of 

faith 449 


2.  Special  training  necessary  in  case  of 

Gentile  converts 450 


§  7.  The  Ministrants. 
1.  A  function  of  the  bishop 450  I  2.  Others  could  administer  it  in  extreme 


451 


§  8.  The  Mode. 


1.  John's  baptism  and  Christ's  baptism 

from  the  same  root 451 

2.  Proselyte  baptism 451 

3.  Clinic  Daptism— Cyprian's  opinion  ...  452  | 


4.  Variety  of  mode 453 

5.  De  Rossi  and  Roller 453 

6.  No  stereotyped  forms  in  the  Apos- 

tolic Church 454 


§  9.  Times  and  Places  of  Baptism,. 

1.  Apostolic  custom    454  I  3.  A  reasonable  liberty  allowed 455 

2.  Favorite  times  of  baptism  455  1  4.  Baptisteries 456 


§  10.  Immediate  Prelim,inaries. 


1.  Profession  of  faith  required 458 

2.  Renunciation  of  the  devil 458 


3.  Sponsors  and  obligations 459 


§  11.  Accompanying  Ceremonies. 

1.  Trine  baptism  of  the  nude  figure 459  I  4.  Influence  of  the  Arians 460 

2.  TertulUan's  and  Ambrose's  account.  459    5.  Unction 460 

3.  Explanations  of  the  practice ■  ■  ■  •  460  I  6.  Imposition  of  hands 461 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  LORD'S   SUPPER. 

§  1.  Idea  and  Mode  of  Celebration. 


1.  The  meal  symbolic 462 

2.  Celebrated  daily 462 

3.  Testimony  of  early  frescos 462 

4.  A  communal  meal 463 

5.  Its  administration  not  confined  to  a 

class 463 

6.  How  celebrated 463 

7.  The  agape  discontinued 464 

8.  The  two  parts  of  worship 464 

9.  The  simplicity  of  early  observance. .  464 

10.  Early  accounts  of 4(55 

11.  Order  of  celebration 465,  471 

12.  Infant  communion 466,  470 


13.  Oblation  by  the  whole  Church 466 

14.  Liturgical   forms    gradually   devel- 

oped    466 

15.  Character  of  the  liturgies 467 

16.  No  recognition  of  a  sin-offering 467 

17.  In  what  sense  a  sacrifice 467 

18.  Opinions  respecting  the  eucharist..  468 

19.  Oiiligation  to  commune 470 

20.  No  private  mass 470 

21.  Elements  sent  to  the  sick,  etc 471 

22.  Where  celebrated        471 

23.  When  and  how  often  celebrated  . .  471 

24.  No  elevation  of  the  host  472 


§  2.  The  Altar  and  its  Furniture. 

1.  Names  and  forms 472  14.  Richness  of  altar  furniture 474 

2.  Position  of  altar 472    5.  Protest  against  luxury 475 

3.  The  chalice  and  paten 473,  474  | 


CONTENTS  AND  ANALYTIC  OUTLINE.  9 

CHAPTER  III. 

EARLY  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP. 

§  1.  The  Apostolic  Age. 

1.  Suggestions  of  an  early  liturgy 476  I  4.  Composition  of  early  churches 477 

2.  Jewish  influences 476    5.  Greater  independence  among  heathen 

3.  Forms  of  worship 477  |  converts 479 

§  2.  Worship  in  Time  of  Apostolic  Fathers. 

1.  Statement  of  "  The  Teaching  " 479  I  3.  Heathen  testimony 480 

2.  Testimony  of  Ignatius 480  | 

§  3.  Public  Worship  in  Second  and  Third  CentuHes. 

1.  Justin  Martyr's  account 480  i  3.  Cyprian's  and  Augustine's  testimony 

2.  Tertullian's  statement 482  j  482, 483 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  EARLIEST  LITURGIES. 

§  1.  Origin. 

1.  Occasions  of  growth 484  I  3.  Have  undergone  great  modifications.  485 

2.  Penitential  system  484  | 

§  2.  Classification  and  Description. 

1.  Neale's  classification 485  15.  Liturgy  of  St.  Mark 487 

2.  Two  parts  of  a  liturgy  486  |  6.  Classes  of  Western  liturgies 488 

3.  Liturgy  of  St.  Clement 486  I  7.  The  philosophy  of  the  liturgy 488 

4.  Liturgy  of  St.  James 487  |  8.  Central  thought  in  each 488 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  LORD'S  DAY,   OR  SUNDAY. 

§  1.  Historic  Statement. 

1.  Reason  for  observing  the  first  day...  490  14.  Imperial  rescripts  concerning 491 

2.  Relationof  the  seventh  to  the  first...  400    5.  Humane  provisions 492 

5.  Early  testimonies  to 491  | 

§  2.  Sanctity  and  G-round  of  Observance. 


1.  The  resurrection  of  Christ 492 

2.  No  positive  enactment 493 

3.  Early  testimony 493 

4.  Provisions  for  observance 494 

5.  Gentile  churches  not  bound  by  the 

Jewish  law 495 


6.  The  fourth   commandment  not  the 

basis  of  obligation 495 

7.  Pati'istic   testimony   respecting    the 

giounds  of  obligation. .   .  495,  496 

8.  Reasons  of  seeliing  a  legal  sanction..  496 

9.  The  legal  at  length  supplanted  the 

moral  view ■197 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EASTER     AND    OTHER     FESTIVALS. 

§  1.  Idea  and  Time  of  Observance. 

1.  Influence  of  the  Jewish  passover        498  |  3.  The  parties 498, 499 

2.  Controversy  about  observing  Easter.  498  ' 

§  2.  Attempts  at  Reconciliation. 

1.  The  import  of  the  question 499  I  4.  Conciliary  decision ^'WJ 

2.  The  demand  of  Victor 499  |  5.  Rule  for  celebration ■•  •_' "' 

3.  The  arguments 500  ;  6.  Different  cycle o*w.  ^^ 

§  3.  The  Ceremonies  of  Easter. 

1.  Two  divisions  of  the  festival 501 1  3.  Lengthened  observance  of 502 

2.  Acts  of  mercy 502  | 

§  4.  The  Festival  of  Pentecost. 
1.  Two  uses  of  the  word  Pentecost 502  |  2.  Mode  of  observance 502 


10  CONTENTS  AND  ANALYTIC  OUTLINE. 

§  5.  The  Feasts  of  Epvphany,  Christmas,  etc. 

1.  Multiplication  of  feasts 502  I  4.  Supposed  origin  of  Christmas 503 

2.  Origin  of  the  festival  of  Epiphany 502    5.  Conclusions  reached      503 

3.  Date  of  birth  of  Christ  unknown 503  |  6.  Inlluence  of  Mariolatry 504 


BOOK    FOURTH. 

THE    ARCHAEOLOGY    OF    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  CHKISTIAN  FAMILY. 


1.  The  family  a  type  of  the  Church 507 

2.  Christ's  sanction  of  the  family 507 

3.  The  apostles  in  harmony  with  Chi-ist. 

507,  508 

4.  Teaching  of  the  Fathers 508,  509 

5.  Position  of    women  among  the   Ro- 

mans      509 

6.  Evils  under  the  later  Republic 509 

7.  Christian  and  heathen  views  of  abor- 

tion   510 

8.  Opinions  respecting  infanticide..  510,  511 

9.  Training  of  children 511 


10.  Roman  law  concerning  the  children.  511 

11.  The  Church  had  oversight  of  mar- 

riage    512 

12.  Prescribed  limits  of  consanguinity. .  512 

13.  Influence  of  asceticism  and  celibacy  513 

14.  Possible  origin  of  asceticism 513 

15.  Heathen  examples  of  asceticism 513 

16.  Causes  strengthening  itin the  Church  514 

17.  Civil  legislation  adverse  to  asceti- 

cism   514 

18.  Evil  effects  of  exaltation  of  celibacy 

and  virginity  in  the  Church..  515 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  SLAVERY. 


1.  The  relations  of  the  Church  to  civil 

government 516 

2.  Christianity  gave  a  new  law 516 

3.  Slavery  a  fixed  institution  in  the  Ro- 

man eini)ire 516 

4.  Condition  of  the  slave 516,  517 

5.  Christianity  did  not  attempt   direct 

abolition 517 

6.  Its  care  for  the  slave 518,  519 

7.  Emancipation  encouraged  and  prac- 

tised.....  519 

8.  Slight  influence  of  first  Christian  em- 

perors on  abolition  of  slavery  519 


9.  The  moral  type  influenced  abolition. . 

519,  520 

10.  The  simplicity  of  Christianity  unfa- 

vorable to  slavery 520 

11.  Slaves  eligible  to  office  in  the  Church  520 

12.  Monumental  evidence  of  equality  of 

all  classes  under  Christian- 
ity  521,522 

13.  The  testimony  of  the  bullm 522,  523 

14.  Christianity  elevated  labor 523 

15.  Illustrative  inscriptions 523 

16.  Evidence  entirely  harmonious 524 


CHAPTER  III. 

RELATION  OF  THE  EARLY   CHURCH  TO   CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  LIFE. 


1.  Christianity  encouraged  labor 525 

2.  Trying  position  of  the  early  Christ- 

ians   525 

3.  Certain  trades  condemned 526 

4.  Patri.stic  opinions 526 

5.  Public  aniiiseincnts  interdicted 526 

6.  Low  condition  of  the  Roman  drama.  527 

7.  High  tragedy  imi)oinilar 527 

8.  Legal  disabilities  (if  actors 527 

9.  All  shows  tainted  witli  idolatry 528 

10.  Tertullian's    and    Cyprian's    state- 
ments   528,  529 


11.  Actors  excluded  from  the  Church. . .  529 

12.  Conciliary  action 529 

13.  Roman  love  of  spectacles —  529 

14.  Aversion  to  military  life 530 

15.  Tainted  with  idolatry 530 

16.  Decadence  of  thf  military  spirit —  531 

17.  Milder  views  at  length  prevail 531 

18.  The  provisions  of   the  Church  for 

soldiers 531,  532 

19.  Monumental  evidence 532,  533 

20.  Few  monumental  references  to  mili- 

tary life 533 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CHARITIES   IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH. 


1.  Poor  relief  by  heathen  peoples 534 

2.  Teaching  of  the  Stoics 534,  535 

3.  Its  defects 535 

4.  The  cliilis  and  guilds...   535 

5.  The  element  of  selfishness  in  them...  535 

6.  Influence  of  the  CoHegia  on  Christian 

charities    536 

7.  The  Church  a  true  community 536 

8.  Heathen  charities  tainted  with  self- 

ishness      536 


9.  True  inspiration  of  Christian  charity  537 

10.  One  family  of  believers 537 

11.  Financial  prosperity  in  the  Roman 

empire 538 

12.  Its  influence  on  charities 539 

13.  Adverse  influences 539 

14.  Christian  charities  broad  and  organ- 

ized  539,  540 

15.  Influence   of   Christian   charity  on 

pauperism 541 


CONTENTS  AND  ANALYTIC  OUTLINE. 


U 


16.  Opportunities  for  Cbristiau  charities        i  is.  Influence  of  imion  of  Church    •m,! 

iu  persecutions  and  luisfor-        |                     State                    v.uun,u   auu 
,    „        tunes...         54ii,543il9.  Decay  of  pure  ■charity.  ■■■.■.■.;■. ^ 

17.  Influence  olMontauism  upon  charity  543  |  20.  Kise  of  hospitals  ^ 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  KELATIONS  OF  THE  EARLY  CHUKCH  TO  EDUCATION  AND  GENERAL  CULTURE. 


1.  The  culture  of  the  apostles  difQcult 

to  ascertain 546 

2.  Influence  of  Jewish  practices 546 

3.  Schools  iu  time  of  Christ 547 

4.  Influence  of  the  synagogue 547 

5.  Christ's  method  suggestive 548 

6.  Exalted  character  of    the  apostolic 

teachings  and  writings..  548,  549 

7.  The  Christian  duty  to  children 549 

8.  The  prevalence  of  secular  schools 550 

9.  The  declining  condition  of  education 

in  the  West 550 


Embarrassments  of  the  Christians     550 

The  Catechumeuate  551 

The  uses  of  Greek  learning.  551 

The  schools  of  Alexandria  and  An- 

tioch 551-553 

A  more  favorable  view  of  pagaii  cul- 

^„    .  ,    ture 553 

Christian  theory  of  education  as  de- 
veloped by  the  Christian  fa- 

r.«     .    ^^^\^ 553-555 

Enects  of  the  barbarian  invasions..  555 
Education  in  the  Eastern  Church..    655 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CARE  FOR  THE  DEAD  IN  THE  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 


Jewish  burial  customs 556 

Burial,  not  burning 556 

Three  kinds  of  tombs 557 

Jewish  monuments . .  557 

Greek  burial  customs 557 

Both  burying  and  burning  practised 

557,  558 

Cheerfulness  attempted 558 

Roman  customs 558,  559 

Legal  provisions 559 

Both  burial  and  burning  practised..  559 

The  Columbarium 559 

Ornamented    tombs    on  the   public 

streets 560 


13.  Christian  care  for  the  dead 561 

14.  Inhumation  and  not  burning 562 

15.  The  family  idea  preserved  in  burial.  562 

16.  No  secrecy  necessary 562 

17.  Burial  clubs 562 

18.  Origin  of  Roman  catacombs 562,  563 

19.  Description  of  catacombs 563 

20.  Extent  of  catacombs 563,  564 

21.  Cubicula  not  used  for  public  wor- 

ship    565 

22.  The  lighting  of  the  catacombs 566 

23.  Theology  of  the  catacombs 566 

24.  Tombs  of  Central  Syria 567 


ADDENDA. 


I.  Glossary  of  Terms 569 

II.  Italian  Churches  and  Catacombs, 

with  English  Names 573 

III.  Translation  of  Inscriptions 575 


IV.  Table  of  Abbreviations 584 

V.  Inscriptions    Relating    to    Infant 

Baptism 587 

VI.  Literature  of  Christian  Archaeology.  588 


General  Index. 
3 


601 


INTRODUCTION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  PRINCIPLES. 


Archeology  {dpxaio}\.oyia)  '  is  tlio  science  of  antiquity;  the 
scientific  presentation  of  the  life  of  the  peoples  of  antiquity  as 
found  in  the  fixed  forms  of  ancient  civilization.  It  is  an  auxiliary 
of  general  history  ;  but,  while  the  historian  considers  great  move- 
ments, the  archaeologist  studies  civilization  as  it  has  crystallized 
into  definite  forms. 

General  archaeology  considers  those  fundamental  principles  wliich 
control  in  the  study  of  the  early  life  of  all  peoples.  Special  arcliai- 
ology  has  reference  to  the  life  and  institutions  of  a  particular  jteople 
or  age,  or  to  a  particular  kind  or  class  of  evidence.  Christian  arclui;- 
ology,  further,  should  be  limited  to  the  systematic  study  of  the  art, 
constitution,  government,  discipline,  worship,  rites,  and  life  of  the 
early  Christian  Church. 

It  can    be    conveniently  examined   under  a  fourfold   Divisions  of 

•'  Christian      ar- 

division  :  chaeoloKy. 

a.  The  archjeology  of  Christian  art.'' 

This  examines  Christian  thought,  life,  doctrines,  and  institu- 
tions as  they  are  found  crystallized  and  expressed  in  monuments  ; 
monumental  evidence  being  here  used  in  distinction  f  i-om  document- 
ary. It  therefore  includes  the  examination  of  the  geography  and 
chronology  of  Christian  art  monuments;  the  influences  exerted  upon 
Christian  art  by  Judaism  and  heathenism;  the  symbolism  of  Christ- 
ian art  ;  the  history  and  monuments  of  Christian  painting  and 
mosaics,  of  Christian  sculpture,  architecture,  music,  and  poetry. 
It  carefully  studies  the  Christian  burial  monuments,  also  Christian 
inscriptions,  coins,  medals,  seals,  rings,  diptychs,  and  furniture.^     A 

'  The  word  apxaioXoyia  seems  to  be  the  adequate  Greek  synonyme  for  tlie  Latin 
Antiqmtates.     Some  writers,  notably  Bingham,  have  preferred  the  latter  term. 

^  "The  archajology  of  ancient  Christian  art  is  the  scientific  investigation  and  repre- 
sentation of  the  art  possessions  of  Christianity  and  the  Church  in  the  form  of  classical 
antiquity."— Victor  Schultze :  Arclueologie  der  altchristlkhen  Kmist.     Miinchen,  1895. 

3  Otto  Jahn  would  rank  numismatics  among  the  sources  of  history,  and  regard 
epigraphies  as  an  auxiliary  of  philology. 


14  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

scientific  treatment  presupposes  a  correct  estimate  of  monumental 
evidence,  which  is  the  result  of  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
autoptics,*  criticism,  and  hermeneutics  of  Christian  art  monuments." 

b.  Archseology  of  the  constitution  and  government  of  the  Christian 
Church. 

This  includes,  1.)  The  examination  of  the  fundamental  idea  of 
the  Christian  Chui'ch  as  revealed  in  the  New  Testament  Scriptures. 
2.)  The  Church  in  its  organized  form.  3.)  The  offices  and  officers 
of  the  Church  ;  the  superior,  including  the  bishops,  presbyters,  and 
deacons,  and  the  inferior,  including  the  subdeacons,  deaconesses, 
catechists,  acolytes,  exorcists,  etc.  The  government  by  councils, 
synods,  etc.  4.)  The  Church  discii^line,  which  examines  the  con- 
ditions and  methods  of  admission  into  the  Church  ;  the  duties  of 
the  individual  members  to  the  organic  body  ;  the  nature  and  extent 
of  penalties,  etc. 

c.  Archseology  of  Christian  worship  and  rites. 

This  embraces,  1.)  The  means  of  public  religious  education  and 
edification,  including  prayer,  singing,  reading  of  the  Scriptures, 
preaching,  etc. ;  in  which  all  might  participate.  2.)  The  sacraments, 
their  nature,  number,  efficacy,  candidates,  ministrants,  mode  and 
place  of  celebration.  3.)  The  sacred  times  and  seasons,  as  Sabbath, 
Easter,  Christmas,  Quadragesima,  etc. 

d.  Archaeology  of  Christian  life. 

This  considers,  1.)  The  Christian  family,  its  basis  and  significance. 
2.)  The  opinion  of  the  Church  respecting  the  marriage  relation,  the 
treatment  of  slavery,  household  religion,  etc.  3.)  The  relation  of 
Christians  to  trades  and  business  ;  what  vocations  were  lawful,  what 
forbidden.  4.)  The  relation  of  the  Christian  Church  to  charities  ; 
the  care  for  the  poor ;  the  existence  of  orphanages,  hospitals,  etc. 
5.)  The  social  and  literary  position  of  the  early  Church.  6.)  The 
care  for  the  dead.  Christian  burial,  prayers  for  the  dead,  etc.^ 

'  This  term  is  applied  to  the  simple  description  of  monuments  ;  their  material, 
extent,  degree  of  preservation,  style,  place  of  discovery,  etc. 

^  Kraus:  Ueher  Begriff,  Umfang,  rmd  Bedeutung  der  christlichen  Archceologie. 
Freiburg,  1879.     s.  12. 

'  V.  Schultze :  In  ZiJckler's  Handbuch  der  theologischen  Wissenschaften,  etc.  3  Bde. 
1884.     Vol.  ii,  ss.  23G-272. 

This  is  mainly  after  the  analogy  of  classical  archfeology ;  and  no  valid  reason  can  be 
urged  why  the  archaeology  of  the  Christian  Church  should  not  have  like  logical  division. 

Among  the  latest  treatises  upon  Christian  archaeology  are :  J.  Mallet :  Cours  Me- 
mentaire  d' Archiologie  religieuse.  Paris,  1883.  Reusens :  Mements  d" Archiologie 
chretienne.  Aix-la-Chapelle,  1885.  Vev&tQ  AnAve:  L^Arcluologie  chretienne.  Paris, 
1892.     Schultze:  Die  ArcJucologie  der  altchristlichen  Kwist.     Miinchen,  1895. 

Mallet  defines   archaeology  as  the  science  of  ancient  monuments.     "  Archaeology, 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

The  study  of  Christian  archaeology  properly  dates  from  the  six- 
teenth century.     It  was  occasioned  not  only  by  the  general  revival 
of  classical  learning,  but  especially  by  the  earnest  con-    History  of  ar- 
troversies  of  the  reformation  period.     The  Protestant    chaeoioKy. 
reformers  had  vigorously  arraigned  the  Church  for  a  wide  departure 
from  the  primitive  simplicity  of  worship,  doctrine,  and  polity,  and 
they  believed  that  this  charge  could  be  best  justified  by  a  thorough 
examination  of  the  life,  the  institutions,  and  the  customs  of  the  early 
Christian  centuries.     The  Magdeburg  centuriators'  thus    The    centuri- 
became  the  pioneei's  in  special  archaeological  studies  ;  to    ^^'■^• 
justify  the  revolt  against   the  mediaeval   Church   was   their   chief 
aim. 

To  answer  this  arraignment  of  the  centuriators,  the  adherents  of 

Rome  were  in  turn  compelled  to  enter  upon  like  funda- 

^  i  Baronius. 

mental  studies.  Caesar  Baronius  (f  1607),  a  priest  of  the 
Roman  oratory,  then  a  cardinal,  after  thirty  years  of  most  labo- 
rious investigation  published  his  Awiales  Ecclesice,  a  work  which 
has  ever  since  been  regarded  as  the  well-furnished  arsenal  from 
which  the  Roman  Catholic  writers  have  derived  their  weapons  of 
defense.'' 

While  the  thought,  doctrines,  usages  and  life  of  the  early  Christ- 

in  the  sense  in  whicli  we  use  it,  includes  the  study  of  architecture,  sculpture,  paint- 
ing— all,  indeed,  embraced  under  the  term  arts  of  design;  also  paleography,  or  the 
science  of  inscriptions  and  ancient  writings  ;  numismatics,  or  ancient  coins  and  medals ; 
glyptics,  or  engraving  on  precious  stones  ;  sphragistics,  or  tlie  science  of  seals ;  ce- 
ramics, or  a  knowledge  of  pottery  ;  and,  finally,  furniture — this  last  terra  not  being 
confined  to  its  ordinary  meaning,  but  including  every  thing  connected  with  Christian 
worship,  as  baptismal  fonts,  chairs,  stalls,  sacred  vessels,  crosses,  chandeliers, 
censers,  vestments,  and  liturgical  ornaments."     pp.  1,  2. 

Canon  Reusens  says:  "The  study  of  antiquity  can  be  divided  into  twopnrta: 
1.)  Sciences  philological.  2.)  Sciences  historic.  The  first  embraces  the  literary 
sources,  the  second  tlie  monumental.  The  word  Christian  arch;eology  has  chief 
reference  to  the  latter,  or  monumental.  It  therefore,  properly  speaking,  includes  tlie 
study  of  the  monuments  of  Christian  worship,  that  is,  church  edifices,  and  church 
furniture  in  its  broadest  sense." 

'  Mattliias  Flacius,  a  preacher  of  Magdeburg,  an  Illyrian  by  birth,  associated  with 
himself  a  number  of  learned  Protestants,  among  whom  were  Matthew  Judex,  Holtz- 
huter,  Andrew  Corvinus,  and  Basil  Paber,  for  the  purpose  of  writing  a  history  of  the 
Church  by  centuries.  Hence  these  writers  are  called  centuriators.  This  work  ia 
learned,  and  exhibits  much  acuteness  and  great  powers  of  generalization,  but,  as 
might  be  expected,  is  too  often  intensely  partisan. 

"  While  not  himself  an  archaeologist,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  Baronius 
nevertheless  in  certain  sections  of  his  Annales  examines  the  archaeological  materials 
that  are  important  to  answer  certain  debated  questions  of  the  early  Christian  his- 
tory. These  were  afterward  collected  and  edited  by  Schulting :  Thesaurus  Antiqui- 
tatum  Ecclesiasticarum,  etc..  IGOl. 


16  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

ians  were  characteristic,  they  can,  however,  l>est  be  studied  in 
Relations  of  connection  with  Jewish  and  classical  archaeology.  The 
c/assfca i"  ar-  ^''^*  Converts  had  been  adherents  of  the  then  ex- 
chffioiogy.  tant  religious  systems,  Jewish  and  heathen.     On  their 

acceptance  of  the  new  faith  prejudices  were  not  immediately 
corrected,  but  long  continued  in  the  Church  as  modifying 
factors.  The  tenacity  of  the  Jew  for  his  venerated  religion 
and  its  stately  ritual  caused  serious  embarrassment  to  the  apostles 
and  early  Christian  fathers.  The  heathen  mythology  left  its 
deep  impress  upon  the  art  of  the  early  and  mediaeval  Church.' 
The  philosophic  systems  of  Plato  and  Aristotle  fui-nished  a  vig- 
orous and  exact  terminology  for  the  expi'ession  and  defense  of 
Christian  doctrine,^  and  the  corrupted  Neo-Platonism  of  a  later 
period  was  the  fruitful  source  of  dangerous  heresies.  The  methods 
of  investigation  and  the  forms  of  expression  that  matured  under  the 
influence  of  classical  antiquity  greatly  aided  in  the  discussion  and 
precise  formulation  of  Christian  thought.  These  philosophic  sys- 
tems were  not  merely  negative  in  their  relations  to  Christianity, 
but  they  contained  positive  elements  of  the  good,  the  true,  and  the 
beautiful,  and  have  remained  unsurpassed  for  terseness  and  com- 
prehensiveness, for  beauty  and  variety.^ 

Christian  archa3ology  thus  receives  imj^ortant  aid  and  illustra- 
tion from  the  study  of  Jewish  and  classical  archaeology.  These 
latter  disciplines  are,  however,  with  respect  to  their  content,  almost 
the  exact  antipodes  of  each  other.  Aside  from  purely  literary 
remains,  neai'ly  all  the  materials  for  classical  archaeology  are  to  be 
found  in  works  of  architecture,  sculpture,  and  epigraphy,  while  the 
Hebrews  largely  lacked  the  ability  to  produce  works  of  a  high  order 
of  excellence  in  formative  art.  Hence  many  of  the  ablest  classical 
archaeologists  make  the  formative  arts  the  centre  and  kernel  of  clas- 

*  Compare  Piper :  Mijthologie  der  chrisilichen  Kunst  von  der  altesten  Zeit  his  ill's  sech- 
zehnte  Jahrhundert.  Weimar.  Bd.  i,  1847.  Bd.  ii,  1851.  Fr.  Miinter:  SinnbUder 
und  Kunstvorstellungen  der  alien  Christen.  Altona,  1825.  F.  X.  Kraus:  Die  christ- 
licJie  Kunst  in  ihren  friihesten  Anfdngen.     Leipzig,  1873. 

^  Besides  the  numerous  histories  of  Christian  doctrines,  see  especially  Ueberweg : 
History  of  Philoso^-ihy,  translated  by  Morris.  2d  Pai't :  Tlie  Patristic  and  Scliolastic 
Period.  Becker :  Das  philosojyhi'iche  System  Platans  in  seiner  Beziehung  zum  christ- 
licken  Dogma.  Freiburg,  1862.  Ackermann:  Tlie  Christian  Element  in  Plato  and 
the  Platonic  Philosophy.  Edinburgh,  1861.  Cocker:  Christianity  and  the  Greek 
Philosophy.  New  Tork,  1870. 

*  Compare  Kraus :  Lehrbuch  der  christlichen  Geschichte.  Treves,  1872.  Sepp:  Das 
Heidenihum  und  dessen  Bedeutung  fiir  das  Christenthum.  Bd.  iii,  ss.  285-289.  DolHnger: 
Tlie  Gentile  and  the  Jew  in  the  Courts  of  the  Temple  of  Christ.  Translated  by  N. 
Darnell.  London,  1862.  Piper :  Virgil  ols  Theologe  und  Prophet  in  Evangel.-Kal- 
ender,  1862. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

sical  archaeology,'  while  writers  on  biblical  archaeology  must  neces- 
sarily regard  these  arts  as  constituting  but  a  comparatively  insig- 
nificant part  of  their  investigations.^ 

The  date  from  which  (termmus  a  quo)  this  examination  should 
begin  is  naturally  when  the  first  germs  of  the  Christian  Church  ap- 
pear, or  when  their  existence  can  be  well  authenticated,    ^,       ,    . 

'  '     Chronological 

even  though  the  documents  and  monuments  may  have  limits  of  our 
entirely  disappeared.'  This  limitation  will,  however,  examiuatioa. 
be  determined  by  the  main  purpose  which  the  investigator  may  have 
in  mind.  With  respect  to  the  other  limiting  period  {terminus  ad 
quern)  widely  different  opinions  have  been  entertained.  In  this  case 
there  is  no  natural  terminus.  Some  have  regarded  the  death  of 
Gregory  the  Great,  A.  D.  604,  a  proper  limit  to  Christian  archaeolog- 
ical inquiries.^  Others  have  extended  it  to  the  eleventh  century,  or 
to  the  age  of  Hildebrand;^  while  still  others  would  make  the  Refor- 
mation of  the  sixteenth  century  the  line  of  separation  between  the 
old  and  the  new.*  Some  of  the  later  writers  on  Christian  art 
archaeology  would  place  no  boundary  to  its  appropriate  study, 
regarding  whatever  is  past  as  falling  legitimately  under  the  term 
archaeological.' 

While  no  strictly  historic  limit  can  be  fixed,  beyond  which  Chris- 
tian archaeological  studies  may  not  be  continued,  we  shall  confine  our 
examinations  to  the  period  ending  Avith  the  second  Trullan  Council 
at  Constantinople,  A.  D.  692.  Prior  to  this  the  Church  had  under- 
gone most  of  its  fundamental  changes,  and  Christian  art  and  institu- 

'  Stark:  ffandbucJi  der  Archceologie der Kunst.  Leipzig,  1880,  IteTheil.  OttoJahn: 
Ueher  das  Wesen  und  die  wichtigslen  Aufgahen  der  archceologisclien  Studien.  Wiu- 
kleniann  :    Geschichie  der  Kun-st  des  Alter thums.     2  vols.,  4to,  1776. 

^  For  discussion  of  causes,  v.  Bk.  i,  chap,  ii. 

^  Guericke :  Lehrhuch  der  cliristUch-lcirchlichen  Archdologie.  2te  Aufl.  Berlin, 
1859,  §  1. 

^Bingliam:  Origines  EcdesiasticcB ;  or,  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church.  2  vols. 
1867.     Guericke:    Op.  cit.     Rhe'mwa\d  :  Die  Jdrchliche  Archiiologie.  Berlin,  1830,  §  .'^. 

*  Augusti :  Handbuch  der  ch.  Archdologie.  3  Bde.  Bd.  i,  s.  '23.  Augusti  rather  inclines 
at  times  to  the  sixteenth  century  as  a  better  limit. 

*  Baumgarten :    Vorlesungen  iiber  christlichen  Alterthiimer. 

'  Hagenbach:  Encyclopcedia  der  theologischen  Wissenschaften.  6te  Aufl.,  §77.  Crooks 
&  Hurst:  Theological  Encyclopcedia  and  Methodoloc/y,  pp.  388,  389.  Rosenkranz: 
Encycl.  der  theol.  Wissenschaften,  1867,  §  96.  Piper:  Einleitung  in  die  monumentnle 
T/ieologie,  1867,  §  17.  Piper  says:  "Of  course  for  the  monuments  of  art  the  Refor- 
mation constitutes  a  distinct  line  of  demarkation,  occasioned  by  the  revival  of  tlie 
study  of  classical  literature,  and  by  the  changed  conditions  of  life  in  which,  besides 
Christianity,  still  other  elements  of  culture  made  themselves  effective.  .  .  .  But  to  this 
branch  of  theology  (monumental)  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages  can  by  no  means  fur- 
nish a  proper  limit,  since  the  Christian  spirit  can  never  cease  to  interest  itself  in 
monumental  studies.    To  this  extent  only  is  this  limitation  reasonable,  namely,  that 


18  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

tions  had  developed  a  type  that  remained  essentially  fixed  for  five 
hundred  years.  This  comprehends  the  classic  period  of  ancient 
Christian  art  and  the  formative  period  of  Christian  doctrines.  In 
it  are  most  clearly  noted  the  teachings  of  primitive  Christianity,  and 
just  to  what  extent  art  may  be  a  helpful  auxiliary  of  the  Church  or 
become  a  corrupting  and  misleading  power.  From  the  close  of  the 
seventh  century  begins  a  new  period,  in  which  the  Graeco-Roman 
element  in  the  West  yields  to  the  Teutonic,  and  the  Byzantine 
church  life  and  art  become  stiff  and  immobile.  The  Church,  by 
the  controversy  over  image  worship,  was  now  sundered,  and  thence- 
forth two  distinct  histoi'ic  streams  flow  side  by  side.  There  is  no 
lono-er  one  undivided  Church,  but  the  Greek  and  the  Latin-Germanic 
develop  each  its  own  distinctive  character  and  life. 

The  more  noted  modern  archaeologists '  substantially  agree  to  limit 
ArchsBoiogists  ^^^^  term  Christian  antiquity  to  that  period  during  which 
and  historians  Christianity  moved  chiefly  within  the  compass  and  influ- 
in  agreement.  ^^^^^  ^^  GriBco-Roman  civilization.  While  the  duration 
of  this  movement  varied  somewhat  in  Rome,  in  Gaul,  and  in  the 
Orient,^  it  will  be  sufficiently  exact  for  the  purposes  of  our  inquiry 
to  limit  the  period  to  the  Council  in  which  the  great  schism  between 
the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches  originated.  In  this  limitation 
the  Christian  archaeologists  are  in  substantial  harmony  with  the 
more  recent  historians  ^  of  the  Church,  who  regard  the  seventh  cen- 

at  the  period  of  the  Reformation  art  activity  is  divided  into  the  contrarieties  of  a 
Protestant  and  a  Cathohc  art.  But  tlie  products  of  art  history  do  not  connect  with 
past  history  alone ;  the  present  has  also  matured  in  both  communions  the  ripe  fruits  of 
a  higher  art  endowment,  and  of  a  profounder  insight  into  the  sacred  Scriptures.  As 
such  works  exert  over  each  other  a  powerful  spiritual  influence,  a  suggestion  is  thus 
furnished  that  in  art  may  be  found  a  ground  not,  indeed,  of  ecclesiastical  union,  but 
of  real  reconciliation."  s.  52. 

'  V.  especially  De  Rossi:  Inscriptiones  Christiance  urbis  Romce.  I.  Romas,  1861, 
fol.     Roma  Sotterranea.     I.  Roma,  1864  ;  II.  Roma,  1867;  III.  Roma,  1877. 

Garrucci:  Hagioglypta  s.  PicturcR  et  Sculpturce  sacra  antiq.,  etc.  Paris,  1856. 
Vetri  ornati  di  Figure  in  Oro,  etc.  Roma,  1857.  Storia  ddV  Arte  cristiana, 
Prato,  1873,  3  vols.  fol. 

Le  Blant:  Manuel  d'EpigrapMe  chretienne,  1869.  Inscriptions  chretiennes  de  la 
Gaul,  1856-1865. 

Martigny:  Dictionnaire  des  Antiquites  chretiennes,  1877. 

2  It  is  well  known  that,  while  the  death  of  Gregory  the  Great  (A.  D.  604)  marks 
sufficiently  tlie  point  of  transition  from  tlie  antique  to  the  mediteval  type  of  the 
Cliurch  in  Italy,  the  Grreco-Roman  civilization  was  felt  as  a  controlling  power  in 
Gaul  for  nearly  a  centtiry  later;  so  that  our  studies  must  be  extended  among  the 
monuments  of  Gaul  till  near  the  close  of  the  seventh  century. 

3  Neander,  Gieseler,  Baur,  and  others  begin  the  second  or  mediaeval  period  with 
the  death  of  Gregory  the  Great;  Niedner  begins  the  second  period  with  the  middle, 
and  Kurtz,  Hase,  Alzog,  and  others  with  the  last  quarter  of  the  seventh  century. 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

tury  as  the  line  of  division  between  ancient  Christianity  and  that  of 
the  Middle  Ages;  between  the  period  during  which  the  Church  was 
influenced  by  and  influenced  in  turn  Gra^co-Roman  thought,  and 
that  period  during  which  she  came  more  directly  into  contact  with 
the  Teutonic  and  Sclavonic  peoples. 


CHAPTER  TI. 

UTILITY  OF  ARCH^OLOGICAL  STUDIES. 

The  opinion  has  too  commonly  prevailed  that  archaeology  is  a 
study  of  the  merely  strange  and  curious,  and  that  it  chiefly  contrib- 
utes to  the  gratification  of  the  relic-hunter  and  antiquarian.'  Doubt- 
less there  was  some  reason  for  this  opinion  when  things  ancient  were 
examined  in  their  isolation  and  for  their  own  sake,  ratlier  than  in 
connection  with  the  organic  development  of  a  civilization  of  which 
they  are  the  surest  indexes.  Since  archaeology  is  con-  vital  connec- 
nected  vitally  with  the  past,  and  shows  that  any  type  of  "on  of  arciiae- 
civilization  is  measurably  influenced  by  a  given  environ-  torv^of' dviii- 
ment,  it  ranks  among  the  most  practical  of  disciplines,  zation. 
The  materials  of  an  earlier  civilization  sustain  relations  somewhat 
similar  to  those  of  the  organic  remains  that  may  have  been  collected 
by  the  paleontologist.  So  long  as  the  latter  are  pre-  Archsoiofricai 
served  in  museums  simply  to  gratify  the  curious  they  objects  like  or- 
are  of  little  value.  But  when  by  the  application  of  game  remains. 
clearly  defined  principles  each  bone  and  fragment  becomes  the 
means  of  constructing  the  entire  skeleton  of  an  animal  of  a  far-off 
age,  whose  habits  and  habitat  are  thereby  reproduced  before  the 
eyes — the  ancient  world  being  thus  made  real  to  the  geologic  investi- 
gator— paleontology  becomes  a  vital  science,  and  these  otherwise 
dead  organic  remains  are  instinct  with  life. 

So  wath  archaeological  objects  of  either  heathen,  Jewish,  or  Christ- 
ian origin.  Through  the  story  which  they  have  told  many  serious 
errors  of  ancient  history  have  been  corrected,  the  past  of  long-buried 
dynasties  has  been  made  to  pulsate  with  a  life  before  wholly  un- 
known, the  plans,  occupations,  and  institutions  of  men  have  been 
revealed  as  clearly  as  though  they  were  passing  before  our  eyes. 

1  V.  Crooks  and  Hurst:  Encydopmdia  and  Methodology,  p.  389.  ''By  taking  arolire- 
ology  out  of  its  connection  witli  the  livinpj  development  of  the  Church  and  niakiog 
it  an  incense-breathing  rehquary,  we  degrade  it,  as  a  science,  into  a  mere  hunt  for 
bric-a-brac,  and  give  it  an  un-Protestant  varnish  of  idle  curiosity  and  favoritism." 


20  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

As  by  the  study  and  interpretation  of  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  the 
Aids  to  profane  history  of  that  ancient  people  has  been  thoroughly 
history.  reconstructed  ;  as  Assyrian  history  has  received  richest 

illustration  and  been  entirely  transformed  by  the  discovery  of  art 
and  epigraphic  remains  on  the  sites  of  buried  cities; '  as  the  Hellenic 
scholars  already  feel  that  the  most  thorough  and  elaborate  treatises 
of  Grote  and  Curtius  no  longer  furnish  adequate  statements  relative 
to  many  phases  of  Greek  life  and  thought  ;  ^  so,  too,  in  the  history 
Equally  to  of  the  Christian  Church  has  archaeology  essentially  aided 
Christian.  jjj  ^j^g  correction  of  many  misleading  statements,  and  led 

to  a  fuller,  juster,  and  more  satisfactory  knowledge  of  the  early 
Christian  centuries. 

Among  many  that  might  be  named,  the  following  points  may  suf- 
fice to  illustrate  the  utility  of  these  studies: 

1.  Much  erroneous  chronology  of  the  history  of  the  first  three 
Has  corrected  centuries  has  been  corrected,  while  the  faithful  study 
chronology.  ^^  ^|^g  inscriptions,  both  classical  and  Christian,  has  been 
the  means  of  casting  an  unlooked-for  light  upon  the  lives  and  writings 
of  the  early  Christian  fathers.^ 

2.  Archfeological  studies  have  also  corrected  the  false  notions  rela- 

tive  to  a  supposed  hatred  of,  or  aversion  to  art  on  the 
tions  relative  part  of  the  early  Christian  fathers.  The  remains  of  the 
to  art.  catacombs  clearly  teach  that  they,  on  the  contrary,  en- 

couraged the  cultivation  and  practice  of  the  fine  arts.  ^ 

3.  They  have  been  useful  in  perfecting  the  text  of  the  Patristic 
Aids  to  erfe  t  Writings.  By  them  the  spurious  has  been  separated 
the  Patristic  from  the  genuine,  and  falsifications  have  been  detected 
writings.  ^^^^  eliminated.  By  the  use  of  the  analytic  method 
they  have  enabled  the  investigator   to   bring   into   a  fair   historic 

^  "  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  refer  to  their  value  as  contributions  to  mythological, 
historical,  and  philological  knowledge,  as  this  is  now  universally  recognized.  They 
suddenly  appear  as  apparitions  of  a  departed  past  which  at  one  time  it  was  supposed 
would  never  be  recovered.  The  history  of  the  West  had  been  told  in  glowing  pages  of 
the  Greeks  and  Romans:  that  of  the  East,  a  hazy  and  ill-defined  conception  of  thought, 
remained  so,  till  rock  and  clay,  leather  and  papyrus,  had  been  compelled  to  reveal 
the  secrets  of  tlie  unknown  and  almost  magical  characters  in  which  that  history  was 
written.  Some  errors  in  translation — as  in  all  things — but  the  grand  outlines  and 
principal  details  remain,  and  nothing  can  mar  the  chief  outlines  and  beauties  of  the 
history."     S.  Birch:  Records  of  the  Past. 

*  V.  E.  L.  Hicks :  A  Manual  of  Greek  Historical  Inscriptions,  pp.  xi,  xii. 

*  Piper:  Zur  Geschichte  der  Kirchenvater  aus  epigraphischen  Quellen  in  Zeitschrift 
fur  Kirchengeschichte,  1876. 

*  de  Rossi:  Roma  Soiterranea,  Introductory  Chapter.  Inscriptiones  Christiance 
etc.,  Prolegomena. 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

succession  what  was  before  mixed,  confusing,  and  uncertain. 
By  likeness  of  alphabet,  by  similarity  of  expression,  by  com- 
paring etymological  and  art  characteristics  as  noticed  in  in- 
scriptions and  surviving  art  works,  a  juster  and  truer  text  has 
resulted.' 

4.  The  history  of  the  early  heresies  has  received  important  aid 
from  the  study  of  inscriptions  both  on  burial  monuments  History  of  her- 
and  on  gems  and  seals.  "  Thus  the  new  religions  of  esies. 
mixed  origin  that  flourished  under  the  Roman  Empire,  the  Mithraic, 
the  later  Egyptian,  and  the  various  forms  of  Gnosticism,  cannot  be 
properly  studied  without  a  constant  reference  to  these  genuine  illus- 
trations (the  Abraxas  gems,  etc.)  of  their  doctrines;  since  the  only 
written  documents  concerning  them  have  been  transmitted  to  us  by 
either  ignorant  or  prejudiced  adversaries,  whose  sole  object  was  to 
heap  as  many  foul  charges  as  they  could  collect  or  devise  upon  the 
members  of  the  rival  sects."  * 

5.  The  peculiar   nature  of   monumental    evidence  must   not  be 

overlooked.      Inscriptions    and     art     remains    become    _.  . 

i^  _  Their    uiicon- 

unconscious  witnesses  to  the  facts  of  history,  and  scious  testi- 
to  the  extent  of  this  unconsciousness  is  their  value  ™°°^' 
augmented.  This  becomes  more  manifest  when  we  consider  how 
large  a  part  of  the  surviving  literature  of  the  first  three  Christian 
centuries  is  of  the  nature  of  apologetics.  These  writings  were 
designed  for  the  defence  of  the  Christian  system  against  the 
attacks  of  adversaries,  or  to  correct  erroneoiis  doctrines  of  heretical 
sects.  They  contain,  therefore,  a  strong  personal  element  that  is 
not  most  favorable  to  the  revelation  of  the  whole  truth.  Some  of 
the  most  extended  and  valuable  treatises  are  marked  by  evidences 
of  strong  passion  which  manifestly  leads  the  writer  to  represent 
the  opinions  of  opponents  in  the  most  unfavorable  j^^  contrast 
light,  and  to  conceal  the  weak  points  of  the  apologist,  with  early  apoi- 
Such  weakness  can  hardly  attach  to  monumental  evi-  °se^^^- 
dence,  since  this  implies  calmness  as  well  as  unconsciousness, 
and  is,  therefore,  more  of  the  nature  of  average  judgments, 
and  expresses  more  nearly  the  general  public  opinion.  "The 
unimpeachable  form  of  inscriptions  " '  is  a  characterization  of  this 
species  of  evidence  which  has  come  to  be  generally  accepted.  A 
rude  inscription  with  grammatical  inaccuracies,  a  palm  brancli,  a 
symbol  scratched  upon  the  soft  plaster  used  to  close  a  Christian 
tomb,  a  simple  "  depositus,"  or  "  in  pace,"  may  thus  unconsciously 

'  British  Quarterly  Review,  October,  1880,  p.  470. 

"^  King:  Antique  Gems,  pp.  xviii,  xi.x. 

3  Hatch :    The  Organization  of  the  Early  Christian  Churches,  p.  16. 


23  ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

tell  the  story  of  the  real  thought  and  life  of  the  early  Church  more 
truly  and  justly  than  the  most  elaborate  treatise/ 

6.  The  attention  of  scholars  is  now  more  than  ever  before  directed 
toward  the  first  Christian  centuries.  In  the  estimate  of  earnest 
Christian  investigators,  the  questions  of  supreme  importance  are: 
Who  was  Jesus  of  Nazareth '?  What  were  the  doctrines  which  he 
inculcated?  What  was  the  genius  of  the  kingdom  which  he  estab- 
lished ?  What  were  the  institutions  that  he  ordained  ?  What  were 
the  life,  the  customs,  the  accepted  beliefs  of  the  original  Church 
before  it  was  allied  with  earthly  and  governmental  powers  ?  What 
were  the  sources,  nature,  and  intensity  of  the  forces  that  vitiated 
the  purity  and  simplicity  of  the  first  Church  ?  What  are  the  truths 
of  absolute  authority,  because  uttered  and  enforced  by  the  Founder, 
or  by  his  immediately  inspired  apostles  ?  What  is  of  mere  human 
origin,  or  of  prudential  value,  which  may,  therefore,  be  accepted 
or  rejected  according  to  the  shifting  environment  of  the  Church  ? 
These  are  some  of  the  pressing  questions  which  Christian  archae- 
ology is  specially  helpful  to  answer,  because  it  regards  the  objects 
which  it  investigates  as  indexes  of  the  life  and  will  of  the  early 
Christian  actors  and  of  the  real  spirit  of  the  Church." 

'  Stevens:  The  Old  Runic  Monuments  of  Scandinavia  and  England.  London,  1865, 
1867,  1868.  "  This  absence  of  'grammatical  propriety,'  and  this  presence  of  '  a  most 
illiterate  and  unskillful  artist '  are  doubly  precious  in  the  eyes  of  the  speech-killer, 
even  as  much  so  as  the  '  accurate  spelling '  indulged  in  by  the  more  wealthy  and 
educated  families  of  the  deceased.  They  open  out  to  us  glimpses  of  the  most  an- 
cient and  widely  spread  and  popular  Lingua  Rmtica,  in  its  various  dialects,  •which, 
rather  than  the  Book-Latin,  of  which  it  was  independent,  is  the  base  of  all  the  Ro- 
mance tongues  now  flourishing  in  Europe,  with  all  tlieir  various  and  old  patois." 
Vol.  ii,  p.  394. 

The  quotations  in  the  above  passage  are  from  Burgou's  remarks  on  the  great  vari- 
ety of  monuments  and  inscriptions  in  the  Roman  catacombs. 

*  One  has  only  to  recall  some  of  the  most  important  "  finds  "  within  the  past  few 
years  in  order  to  see  that  constantly  increasing  light  is  being  thrown  upon  the  prob- 
lems of  the  early  Christian  life  and  literature  :  1.  The  completion  of  The  Epistles  of 
Clement  hy  t\\e  discovery  of  Bryennios,  in  1875.  2.  The  Gospel  and  Apocalypse  of 
Peter^  discovered  by  the  French  Archasological  Mission,  Cairo,  in  a  grave  in  an  ancient 
cemetery  at  Akmim,  Upper  Egypt,  in  1886.  Published  in  1892.  3.  The  publishing 
in  1888  of  the  Arabic  Diatessaron  of  Tatian,  and  its  translation  into  English,  1895. 
4.  The  recovery  by  Professor  Rendel  Harris  of  the  Syriac  version  of  Aristides  the 
Philosopher,  in  1889.  5.  The  finding  at  Beneseh,  in  Egypt,  in  1897,  of  the  papyrus 
leaf  containing  a  collection  of  TJie  Loyia,  or  Sayings  of  Jesus. 


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SHOWING  CHIEF  CENTRES  OF 
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BOOK  FIRST. 


The  Archeology  of  Christian  Art 


THE 

AECHJIOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GEOGRA.PHY  AND  CHRONOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART  MONUMENTS. 

The  rapid  propagation  of  Christianity  during  the  first  three 
centuries  has  long  been  the  vexed  problem  of  the  deistic,  the  natu- 
ralistic, and  the  mythical  schools.  Solutions  have  been  various,  but 
each  has  proved  inadequate.  Only  a  religion  of  divine  origin  and 
sanction  can  explain  the  facts  of  the  early  Christian  history. 
Absolutely  unassisted  by  human  philosophy  or  state  patronage, 
stubbornly  opposing  the  indulgence  of  passion,  awakening  no  hope 
of  temporal  reward,  in  directest  contradiction  to  the  prevalent 
thought  and  life,  a  pronounced  monotheism  in  the  midst  of  a 
debased  polytheism,  it  nevertheless  gained  disciples  in  every 
province  of  the  Roman  Empire  and  in  the  far-off  regions  beyond. 

The  wonderful  history  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
(Chapter  II)  represents  that  persons  from  widely  sepa-  j. 

rated   countries   were   converted   by  the  preaching  of    spread  of  the 
Peter  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  ^^'^^  ' 

Doubtless  many  returned  to  their  homes  after  the  .celebration  of 
the  great  national  feasts  at  Jerusalem,  and  others  would  naturally 
hasten  to  spread  the  tidings  of  salvation  among  their  former  asso- 
ciates. From  each  of  these,  as  from  a  centre,  the  rapid  propagation 
of  the  Gospel  in  distant  parts  went  forward.  By  the  sparks  that 
were  scattered  abroad  from  this  pentecostal  baptism  of  fire  a  briglit 
and  unquenchable  flame  was  kindled  throughout  the  Roman  world. 

To  the  poor  and  the  oppressed  the  Gospel  must  have  been 
especially  precious.  The  carpenter's  son  spoke  com-  a  message  to 
forting  words  to  the  enslaved,  and  dignified  the  ^^'^  P""""- 
honest  toiler.  He  who  in  the  agonies  of  the  crucifixion  said  so 
tenderly  to  his  favored  disciple,  "Behold  thy  mother"  (John 
xix,  27),  founded  a  religion  that  appealed  with  especial  force  to 
the  heathen  woman  of  the  East.     In  these  very  countries  wliere  her 


26  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

condition  was  most  degraded,  Christianity  elevated  her  to  be  the  peer 
of  her  husband.  By  virtue  of  a  communion  of  spirit  and  a  common 
hope  it  gave  to  marriage  a  new  sanction,  to  maidenhood  a  new 
sacredness,  to  the  whole  life  of  woman  a  higher  worth.' 

Few,  indeed,  of  the  official  class  were  at  first  attracted  toward  the 
Influenced  the  ^^ew  religion  ;  yet  the  testimony  of  records,  as  well  as 
better  classes,  of  the  monuments,  is  conclusive  that  some  of  the  refined 
and  of  the  honorable  early  embraced  the  new  faith.  The  mention 
during  the  apostolic  times  of  Joseph  of  Arimathfea  (Matt,  xxvii, 
57-60,  et.  al.);  Sergius  Paulus  (Acts  xiii,  6-12);  Dionysius  of 
Athens  (Acts  xvii,  34) ;  and  of  Priscilla,  Aquila,  and  Pudens, 
"  dearly  beloved  in  the  Lord,"  in  whose  house  at  Rome  Christian 
services  were  held  (Rom.  xvi,  3-5  ;  1  Tim.  iv,  21);  as  well  as 
the  evidence  of  the  interment  of  some  members  of  the  Flavian 
family  of  Domitian's  reign  in  the  cemeteries  of  Domitilla  and 
Lucina  at  Rome,  fully  confirm  the  belief  that  the  Gospel  had  already 
found  faithful  Avitnesses  among  the  patrician  classes  and  even  in  the 
imperial  household.^  The  governor  of  Bithynia  complained  to 
Trajan  that  persons  of  every  age  and  of  both  sexes  embraced  the 
pernicious  faith.* 

In  the  second  century  Tertullian  boasted  that  in  Carthage  one 
Number  of  t^^^th  of  the  population  were  Christians,  including 
Christians.  some    even    of    senatorial    rank.     "  We    are   a  people 

of  but  yesterday,  yet  we  have  entered  all  your  places — cities, 
islands,  fortifications,  towns,  market-places,  yea,  your  camp,  your 
tribes,  companies,  palace,  senate,  forum."  *  This  must  be  taken 
with  caution,  since  at  a  still  later  date  Origen  says  that  the 
number  of  the  Christians  as  compared  to  the  whole  population  was 
very  small.  From  a  letter  of  Pope  Cornelius  it  has  been  estimated 
that  under  Maximian  the  Church  at  Rome  could  not  have  numbered 
more  than  fifty  thousand,  or  one  twentieth  of  the  population,  and 
the  total  throughout  the  empire  could  not  have  been  more  than 
one  tAvelfth  to  one  tenth  of  the  entire  people,  or  approximately  from 
eight  millions  to  twelve  millions.''     By  the  middle  of  the  century 

'  Friedlander :  Sittengeschichte  Roms.     Bd.  iii,  s.  587. 

^  de  Rossi:  Bulktino  Arch.  Christ,  iii,  1865,  p.  33,  etc.;  Roma  Sotterranea,  t.  i. 
pp.  196,  319-321. 

^  Pliny  :  1.  x.,  ep.  97.  "  Multi  enim  omnis  setatis,  omnis  ordiuis,  uti  aisque  sexus,"  etc. 

■*  "Hesterni  sumus  et  vestra  omnia  implevimus  urbes,  insulas,"  etc.  Apologeticus 
ad  versus  gentes,  cap.  xxxvii. 

*  Staiidlin:  Univ.  Gesch.  der  christ.  Kirche,  1833,  s.  41,  places  the  number  of 
Christians  at  the  crowning  of  Constantine  at  {la  moitie)  one  half  of  the  population  of 
the  empire.  Matter:  Hist,  de  V  Eglise,  t.  i,  p.  120,  puts  it  at  one  fifth.  Gibbon: 
Decline  and  Downfall,  etc.,  chap,  xv,  places  it  at  one  twentieth ;  Chastel :  Destruc- 


CHRISTIAN  ART  MONUMENTS.  27 

the  apologists  of   the  Church  were  numerous,  and  were  equal  in 

learning  and  controversial  power  to  their  ablest  opponents.     While 

the  foregoing  statement  of  the  zealous  African  is  to  t,v,.  =.•„•»  , 
1  1  •  1  ■  •  ■'■  ^®  spine   or 

be  taken   with  caution,   it  nevertheless  illustrates  the    the  new  reiig- 

earnestness  and  fidelity  of  the  early  Christians,  and  '°°" 
tlie  marvelous  propagative  power  of  their  religion.  These  results 
seem  all  the  more  remarkable  in  the  entire  absence  of  evidence  of 
an  organized  association  for  the  spread  of  the  new  faith  into  foreign 
parts.  Rather  did  the  rapid  extension  of  the  Gospel  in  the  century 
of  its  origin  result  from  the  apostolic  preaching,  from  the  enthusiasm 
which  this  must  have  aroused  among  peoples  impoverished  in  faith 
and  longing  for  spiritual  nourishment,'  from  the  consistent  and 
devoted  lives  of  its  individual  professors,  and  from  the  simple  testi- 
mony of  ihe  men  and  women,  who  had  accepted  the  divine  message, 
to  its  saving  power.  The  words  of  Christ,  "  Ye  are  the  light  of  the 
world.  A  city  that  is  set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid"  (Matt,  v,  14), 
were  eminently  true  of  the  members  of  the  early  Christian  commu- 
nity. Before  the  accession  of  Constantine  the  influence  of  Christ- 
ianity had  penetrated  the  thought,  the  principles,  and  the  life  of 
the  empire.  While  the  old  systems  showed  a  most  remarkable 
tenacity  of  life,  their  hold  on  the  nation  was  nevertheless  becoming 
weaker  and  weaker. 

The  clear,  discerning  genius  of  Constantine  saw  in  the  new 
religion  the  sure  promise  of  the  future.  With  it  he  Adoption  by 
united  his  fortunes,  and  in  legalizing  he  subjected  it  to  ^^^  ^'^'^'*'- 
perilous  temptations  not  before  experienced  even  in  the  times  of 
fiercest  persecution.  From  this  time  the  Church  took  on  a  form 
of  organization  before  unknown  to  it.  The  empire  as  a  political 
machine  was  now  transferred  to  the  rule  of  Christ ;  its  laws  and 
its  institutions  were  placed  on  a  Chi'istian  foundation."  The 
recognition  of  Christianity  as  the  established  faith,  the  protec- 
tion of  its  votaries,  and  the  patronage  of  it  by  the  government 
must  be  reckoned  among  the  most  powerful  infiuences  to  Avin  the 
mass  of  the  population  to  the  profession  of  Christianity.  The  new 
system  could  now  count  the  emperor  as  its  chief  pontiff,  and  thus 
tlie  religious  sense  of  Rome  remained  true  to  its  traditions. 

From  the  fourth  century  the  extension  of  Christianity  must  have 

tion  du  Paganisme  dans  F Empire  d' Orient,  p.  36,  at  one  fifteenth  in  the  Western 
Empire,  and  one  tenth  in  the  Eastern ;  La  Bastie :  Bu  Souv.  x>onHf.  de-s  Emp.  (Acad, 
d,  Inscr.  torn.  12,  p.  77),  at  one  tcntli. 

""  V.  Reuss :  History  oj  the  New  Testament,  2d  ed.  (translated  by  Houghton),  vol.  ii, 
p.  446. 

^  Merivale:    Conversion  of  the  Roman  Empire,  London,  1864,  p.  14. 
4 


28  ARCHiEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

been  rapid  indeed.  The  fear  of  persecution  having  been  removed, 
multitudes  who  had  before  been  intellectually  convinced  of  its 
Increase  of  Superiority,  and  multitudes  more  who  were  ever  ready 
monumental  to  be  identified  with  a  winning  cause,  swelled  the 
evi  ence.  number  of   the  converts.     From  this   time,  therefore, 

the  evidences  are  much  strengthened  through  the  preservation  of 
burial  monuments,  by  the  building  of  churches  and  their  richer 
adornment  and  furniture,  by  the  imperial  coins  that  contain  Christ- 
ian symbols,  and  by  other  remains  of  plastic  and  epigraphic  art. 

The  expectation  that  these  monuments  may  now  be  found  as 
These  objects  widely  distributed  as  was  the  Church  of  the  first  four 
nevertheless  centuries  is  not,  however,  fulfilled.  In  this,  as  in  every 
other  period  of  history,  the  important  and  substantial 
monuments  must  have  been  few  as  compared  with  the  total  number. 
Only  in  the  great  marts  of  trade  and  in  the  cities  of  wealth  and  of 
power  could  the  needed  means  for  the  erection  of  abiding  monu- 
ments be  found.  Only  these  centers,  therefore,  generally  furnish 
the  materials  for  monumental  study.  The  instances  of  chance 
preservation  are  necessarily  few  and  widely  separated.  Even  these 
must  have  been  largely  modified  by  climatic  influences  and  by  the 
civil  and  military  fortunes  of  the  different  provinces.  Within  a 
limited  belt  of  country  on  either  shore  of  the  Mediterranean  were 
the  chief  centres  of  the  civilization  of  the  first  six  Christian  cen- 
turies. The  advantages  of  climate,  of  soil,  and  of  easy  intercommu- 
nication are  the  manifest  reasons  of  this  concentration.  Moreover, 
the  geologic  and  climatic  conditions  were  most  favorable  to  the 
erection  and  preservation  of  monuments.  The  dryness  of  the  air, 
the  almost  complete  immunity  from  frosts,  the  abundance  of 
valuable  quarries,  the  superiority  of  the  beds  of  clay,  and  the 
excellence  of  the  materials  for  the  famous  cements,  contributed 
to  the  erection  and  preservation  of  many  structures  which  are 
invaluable  witnesses  to  the  civilization  of  the  times. 

But  the  ruthlessness  and  cupidity  of  men  have  proved  even  more 
Ruthless  de-  destructive  than  the  forces  of  nature.  The  fearful  in va- 
struction  of  sions  of  the  Teutonic  tribes,  and  the  inroads  of  the  more 
monumen  s.  savage  Huns,  blotted  out  from  the  Roman  world  many 
of  her  noblest   monuments.'     Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  the 

'  V.  Bunsen :  Besclireihung  der  Stadt  Rom.  Bd.  i,  ss.  234.  etc.  "  But  the  damage 
which  the  so-called  barbarians  caused  to  Rome  consisted  not  so  much  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  buildings  and  public  monuments  as  in  the  robbery  of  the  public  treasuries 
and  jewels." — s.  230.  Yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  these  very  objects  rather 
than  imposing  structures  often  supply  the  best  materials  for  writing  the  history  of 
civilization. 


CHRISTIAN  ART  MONUMENTS.  29 

edicts  of  the  Christian  emperors  resulted  in  tlie  loss  of  the  most  noted 
monuments  of  pagan  art.  Statues  of  incomparable  beauty,  and 
temples  of  matchless  grandeur  were  ruthlessly  destroyed  in  Syria, 
Egjqjt,  Italy,  and  Gaul.  Invaluable  materials  for  comparative 
studies  were  thus  hopelessly  lost.  The  edicts  of  persecution 
and  also  the  wars  of  rival  Christian  sects  and  factions  resulted  in 
the  destruction  of  many  Christian  churches.  In  the  squabbles  of 
the  Greens  and  the  Reds  at  Constantinople  man^^  beautiful  churches 
were  consumed. 

In  the  wretched  wars  over  image  worship  the  best  statuary  and 
paintings  of  the  early  Christian  world  were  irretrievably  lost.  The 
burial  places  of  Rome  were  terribly  devastated  by  the  Lombards 
under  their  king,  Astolpho,  in  A.  D.  757,  so  that  their  abandonment 
was  hastened,  and  the  remains  of  martyred  saints  were  gathered  into 
the  crypts  of  churches.^  The  iconoclastic  fury  of  the  Mohammedan 
invaders  further  despoiled  the  seats  of  Christian  power  of  their 
finest  works  of  art,  while  the  Crusades  completed  the  destruction 
of  most  that  then  survived.  Only  by  the  more  kindly  treatment 
of  nature  have  some  of  the  most  precious  records  of  the  past  been 
preserved.  The  buried  cities  of  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum,  and  the 
art  remains  that  were  hidden  in  the  obscurity  of  the  catacombs,  fur- 
nish some  of  the  most  valuable  monuments  that  continue  to  our  age. 

First  Century.  It  has  been  questioned  whether  any  well- 
authenticated  Christian  monuments  of  the  first  century  survive. 
Nevertheless,  some  of  the  ablest  Christian  archreologists  Monuments  of 
find  satisfactory  evidence  that  parts  of  some  Roman  first  century. 
catacombs  are  contemporary  with  the  apostolic  age.''  "  Precisely  in 
those  cemeteries  to  which  both  history  and  tradition  assign  an  apos- 
tolic origin,  do  I,  in  the  light  of  the  most  exact  archaeological  criti- 
cism, see  the  cradle  as  well  of  the  Christian  catacombs  as  of  Christian 
art  and  epigraphy.  I  also  there  find  monuments  of  persons  who  ap- 
pear to  belong  to  the  time  of  the  Flavii  and  of  Trajan,  as  Avell  as 
inscriptions  that  date  from  this  same  period.  Since  these  things  are 
80,  a  sound  understanding,  which  alone  can  be  a  safe  guide  in  all 
historical  as  well  as  archaeological  matters,  must  say  to  every  one 
who  is  free  from  preconceived  opinions,  that  such  a  mass  of  concur- 
rent indications,  monuments,  and  dates  cannot  possibly  be  the  work 
of  chance,  that  we  accordingly  therein  may  find  a  warrant  for  the 
truth  of  the  origin  of  these  monuments  which  we  have  maintained  " 
(that  is,  the  first  century).'     The  sepulchres  of  the  Vatican,  certain 

1  de  Rossi :  Rom.  Soil.,  t.  i,  p.  220. 

'^  Strzygowski :  I/conoffvaphie  de)-  Taufe  ChrisH,  Miinchen,  1885,  p.  1. 

^de  Rossi:  Eom.  SotL,  t.  i,  p.  185. 


30  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

inscriptions  in  the  cemetery  of  Santa  Lucina,  on  the  Via  Ostia,  near 
the  present  church  of  San  Paolo  fuori  le  mura,  the  decorations  of 
the  entrance  to  Santa  Domitilla,  the  Virgin  with  the  Child  and 
star,  and  portions  of  the  cemeter}^  of  Santa  Priscilla,  are  also 
believed  by  some  archaeologists  to  belong  to  the  first  century.' 
To  this  century  have  also  been  attributed  certain  portions  of  the 
walls  of  the  house  of  Pudens,  within  whose  area  stands  the  present 
church  of  Santa  Pudenziana,  at  Rome.  The  outer  wall  of  this 
palace  *'  can  be  seen  behind  the  altar,  with  the  large  hall  windows 
in  it,  of  the  first  century."  ^  In  regard  to  the  chronology  of 
these  and  a  few  other  monuments  there  is  such  difference  of 
ojiinion  that  they  become  of  somewhat  doubtful  evidential 
value.* 

Second  Century.  In  the  second  century  the  zeal  of  modern 
archaeological  research  has  firmly  placed  a  number  of  most  interest- 
ing and  valuable  monuments,  Rome,  as  before,  furnishes  most  that 
has  been  preserved.  The  cemetery  of  Santa  Priscilla  on  the  Via  Sa- 
laria  Nuova,  of  Santa  Domitilla  (Nereus  and  Achilles)  on  the  Via 
Ardeatina,  of  San  Praetestato  on  the  Via  Appia,  and  of  San  Ales- 
sandro,  on  the  Via  Nomentana,  also  the  ceiling  decorations  in  San 
Gennaro  dei  Poveri  at  Naples  are  about  all  that  with  certainty  can 
be  referred  to  it.  In  the  frescos  of  these  cemeteries  is  noticed 
the  beginning  of  that  symbolic  treatment  of  art  which  in  the  next 

'Kraiis:  Synchronistische  Tabellen  zur  christliclien  Kunstgeschichie,  1880,  ss.  4,  5. 
Schnltze:  Die  Katakomben,  1882,  s.  91.  Ch.  Lenormant,  Les  Ccdacombes,  1858,  does 
not  hesitate  to  place  the  paintings  of  Santa  Domitilla  in  the  first  century.  For  Hlie 
reasons,  namely,  the  essential  likeness  of  the  art  spirit  of  these  to  the  wall  decora- 
tions of  Pompeii,  and  to  the  paintings  in  the  pyramid  of  Cains  Cestius,  Raoul- 
Rochette  and  Welcker  agree  with  Lenormant. 

^  J.  H.  Parker :  The  House  of  Pudens  in  Rome.  v.  Archceological  Journal,  vol.  xxviii, 
pp.  42,  43.  Tills  is  a  most  interesting  fact,  since  we  are  led  at  once  into  the 
meeting-place  of  those  converts  to  Christianity  who  were  companions  of  Paul 
during  his  last  imprisonment. 

^Tlie  chronology  of  these  monuments  is  most  thoroughly  examined  by  de  Rossi : 
V.Rom.  Sott.,  t.  \,  pp.  184-197.  Contra,  J.  H.  Parker:  The  Archceology  of  Rome, 
1877,  12  vols.  V.  vol.  iv.  in  which  he  treats  of  the  Christian  catacombs.  He  does 
not  recognise  any  picture  of  a  religious  subject  as  of  earlier  date  than  the  fourth 
centurj^  It  must  be  evident  that  his  conclusions  are  not  tlie  result  of  careful  induc- 
tive processes,  but  are  somewhat  hastily  reached  from  almost  exclusively  one  kind 
of  evidence.  On  architectural  questions  Parker  is  an  authority  of  the  first  order,  but 
on  questions  relating  to  painting  his  opinion  cannot  be  regarded  as  decisive.  Renan, 
Marc-Aurele,  p.  543,  concludes  that  the  pictures  in  Sanla  Domitilla  cannot  be  earlier 
than  the  third  century.  Th.  Mommsen,  than  whom  there  can  be  no  more  reliable 
authority  on  Latin  inscriptions,  would,  largely  on  epigraphical  grounds,  refer  the 
cemetery  of  Domitilla  to  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century;  v.  Contemporary 
Revieio,  May,  1871. 


CHRISTIAN  ART  MONUMENTS.  31 

century  reached  its  climax.  In  the  second  century  some  archaeolo- 
gists have  likewise  placed  the  so-called  Abraxas  gems.  The  Abraxas 
By  some  these  are  believed  to  have  arisen  among  the  gems. 
Basilidian  Gnostics,  by  others  they  are  regarded  as  the  product  of  the 
strange  syncretism  of  Indian,  Zoroastrian,  Egyptian,  Jewish,  and 
Gnostic-Christian  thought  which  was  so  prevalent  in  the  second 
century.  In  some  respects  they  resemble  the  early  Egyptian  Scai'a- 
bean  gems.'  While  comparatively  few,  these  monuments  are  inter- 
esting and  important  for  their  artistic  and  doctrinal  suggestions. 

Third  Century. — By  the  third  century  Christianity  had  gained 
a  firm  foothold  in  nearly  every  province  of  the  empire.  The  claims 
of  the  Christians  for  protection  had  more  and  more  secured  the 
attention  of  the  government.  The  higher  social  position  of  the 
adherents  of  the  Church  further  conciliated  the  favor  of  gov- 
ernment. Clement,  Origen,  and  others  had  already  The  Aiexan- 
given  great  dignity  and  fame  to  the  theological  school  '^^^^^  school. 
at  Alexandria.  Before  the  middle  of  the  century  Egypt  had  more 
than  a  score  of  bishops.  In  A.  D.  258  Cyprian  assembled  in 
Carthage  a  synod  of  eighty-seven  bishops,  and  a  Latin  translation 
of  the  Scriptures  had  already  been  made  for  the  use  of  the  West 
African  churches.  Gaul  had  been  visited,  and  by  the  progress  m 
third  century  influential  bishoprics  existed  in  Lyons,  Gaui. 
Vienne,  and  Marseilles.  There  is,  also,  strong  evidence  that  by 
the  middle  of  this  century  the  Celtic  Church  had  a  vigorous  life 
and  organization.^  In  Asia  Minor  and  Greece  were  Asia  Minor  and 
seats  of  many  influential  bishoprics,  presided  over  by  Greece. 
a  most  thoroughly  learned  clergy — the  forerunners  of  those  great 
theologians  who,  in  the  following  century,  were  to  give  form  to 
Christian  doctrine  in  the  councils  of  Nice,  Chalcedon,  and  Con- 
stantinople. 

The  monuments  which  survive  from  this  century  are,  as  might  be 
presumed,  more  numerous,  and  are  found  in  more  widely  extended 
districts  ;  Rome  is,  however,  still  the  seat  of  the  most  interesting 
and  instructive.  The  subterranean  burial  places  are  much  more  ex- 
tensive and  rich  in  art  remains  than  in  the  previous  century. 
The  incorporation  of  brotherhoods  for  the  burial  of  the  guriai  broth- 
dead,  and  the  special  protection  accorded  to  places  of  erhoods. 
sepulture,  encouraged  the  Christians  to  greater  care  for  their  ceme- 

'Bellermann,  J.  J.:  Drei  Programmen  liber  die  Abraxas- Gemmen.  Berlin,  1820. 
Kraus:  Op  cit,  s.  7.  Amon?  the  earlier  expositors  of  these  curious  objects  were 
Gottfried  Wendelin,  Beausobre,  and  others.  Among  the  more  recent  are  Matter, 
King,  and  others. 

'^Stokes:  Ireland  and  the  Celtic  Church.     London,  1886. 


33  AKCH^^OLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

teries.  We  are  informed '  that  Callixtus  was  intrusted  with  the 
dii'ection  of  the  clergy,  and  had  supervision  of  the  cemetery  that 
bore  his  name.  Doubtless  this  has  reference  to  the  fact  that  the 
Christian  congregations  of  Rome  took  advantage  of  the  legal  pro- 
vision ^  to  care  for  property  held  by  them  in  common,  especially  for 
such  as  was  devoted  to  the  cemeteries  and  to  the  charities  of 
the  Church,  by  the  apj)ointment  of  a  legal  representative.  This 
Cemetery  of  ^^^  ^^  ^^^  founding  of  the  Celebrated  cemetery  of  San 
San  Caiisto.  Calisto,  on  the  Via  Appia,  in  which  so  many  martyrs, 
bishops,  and  popes  were  interred  ;  and  it  also  accounts  for  the  change 
of  the  burial-place  of  these  high  church  officials  from  the  Vatican  to 
this  cemetery. 

At  this  time,  also,  are  first  met  the  so-called  Fcibricm  that  St.  Fabi- 
anus,  in  A.  D.  238,  ordered  to  be  constructed.     These 

Thp  Ftibric93 

appear  to  have  been  small  buildings,  j^laced  near  to,  or 
over  the  entrance  to  the  cemeteries;  they  were  used  as  oratories  and 
for  the  celebration  of  the  eucharist.  All  these  probably  disappeared 
during  the  persecutions  of  Decius  and  Valerian,  when  the  necessity 
for  concealment  of  the  entrances  to  these  places  of  Christian  sepul- 
ture was  first  felt.  Notwithstanding  these  persecutions,  and  the  still 
more  sweeping  edict  of  Diocletian,  in  A.  D.  303,  by  which  all  Chris- 
tian cemeteries  were  confiscated  and  all  Christian  churches  were  or- 
dered to  be  razed  to  the  ground,  the  catacomb  of  San  Calisto  has 
continued  to  our  day,  a  marvellous  museum  for  the  study  of 
Christian  life  and  doctrines  in  the  third  century. 

Recent  excavations,  conducted  by  the  Abbe  Delattre  on  a  site 
called  Damous-el-Karita,  near  the  ancient  Carthage,  have  revealed 
an  open-air  cemetery  of  very  considerable  dimensions.  The  im- 
portance of  the  discovery  appears  from  the  fact  that  only  two  or 
three  other  open-air  cemeteries  are  known.  Delattre  considers  the 
date  of  this  area  as  the  end  of  the  third  or  the  beginning  of  the 
fourth  century.^ 

Surviving  The  only  remains  of  churches  in  Rome  from  this 
th-"'^*^t*^^  °t  century  are  possibly  portions  of  the  subterranean  San 
Rome.  Clemente,    a    small    part    of    Santa    Croce     in    Geru- 

salemme,  and  of  Santa  Pudenziana.^    By  some  authorities  the  beauti- 

'  Philosophumema.  This  has  been  well-nigh  demonstrated  to  be  the  work  of 
Hippolytus,  and  not  of  Origen,  as  was  thought  by  the  Benedictines  and  others. 

^  Digest,  iii,  4,  1,  §  1,  de  Collegiis.  "  Quibus  autem  permissum  est  corpus  collegi 
societatis,"  etc. 

^  V.  Delattre :  Archeologie  chretienne  de  Carthage, — Fouilles  de  la  Basilique  de 
Damous-el-Karita.     Lyon:  1886. 

*  As  we  have  before  seen  (p.  30),  Mr.  Parker  refers  portions  of  this  Church  to  the 
first  century. 


CHRISTIAN  ART  MONUMENTS.  33 

ful  statue  of  the  Good  Shepherd  (Fig.  46),  now  in  the  Lateran  Mu- 
seum, a  marble  sarcophagus  discovered  in  1853  in  the  cemetery  of  !San 
Pretestate  at  Rome,  and  the  statue  of  St.  Hippolytus,' 
also  in  the  Lateran  Museum,  are  placed  in  this  century.  ^  "'*" 

From  this  century  a  large  class  of  symbols,  many  allegorical  pictures, 
and  biblical  scenes  of  symbolico-allegorical  significance  have  also 
been  preserved.  A  limited  number  of  historical  and  liturgical  rep- 
resentations are  likewise  believed  to  date  from  the  latter  part  of 
it.  Figures  wrought  in  gilt  upon  glass  vessels,  found  Glass  vessels 
in  the  Roman  catacombs  and  at  Cologne,  and  a  few  and  gems. 
gems  of  clearly  recognised  Christian  origin,  have  been  referred  to 
this  period. 

In  Africa,  on  the  site  of  the  ancient  Castellum  Tingitanum,  the 
modern  Orleansville,  are  found  the  remains  of  the  Church  of  St. 
Reparatus,  some  parts  of  which,  from  an  inscription  still  extant, 
are  by  some  believed  to  date  from  the  year  A,  D.  252.*  Architectural 
By  some  archseologists  the  churches  found  at  Djemlia  monumeuts. 
and  at  Announa  in  Algeria,  at  Ibrim  in  Nubia,  and  at  Arment  or 
Erment,  the  ancient  Hermonthis,  in  Egypt,  have  been  referred  to 
the  third  century.  The  excavations  on  old  sites  in  Asia  Minor,'  in 
Syria,  and  in  the  Hauran,  are  bringing  to  light  remains  of  old  Chris- 
tian churches  whose  age  has  not  yet  been  fully  determined,  but 

'  Much  discussion  has  been  had  over  this  statue  and  the  bronze  statue  of  St.  Peter 
in  San  Pietro  Vaticano,  ai  Rome.  Many  deny  to  both  a  Christian  origin  and  character. 
Bui  the  Easter  cycle,  engraved  upon  tlie  chair  of  the  statue  of  St.  Hippolytus,  is  a 
significant  circumstance,  and  seems  to  furnish  a  strong  argument  for  its  Christian  origin 
and  genuineness,  v.  Salmon:  Chronology  of  Hippolytus,  in  Hermathena,  for  1873, 
pp.  82-85;  also  Dtjliinger  :   Hippolytus  unci  Callistus,  ss.  23-27. 

2  The  inscription  bears  the  year  285  of  the  Mauritauian  era.  If  we  are  to  follow- 
some  of  the  archfeologists  and  epigraphists  this  era  began  thirty-three  years  before 
the  Christian  era  (v.  Prevost) ;  according  to  others  it  began  forty  years  after  the 
Christian  era  (v.  Henzen,  on  Nos.  5337,  5338,  and  5859  of  Orelli's  Imcript.  lat.).  In 
the  former  case  the  date  of  the  inscription  would  point  to  A.  D.  252 ;  in  the  latter, 
to  A.  D.  325.  Fergusson:  Hist,  of  Arch.,  vol.  i,  pp.  403,  404;  Mothes,  0.:  Basiliken- 
form,  s.  30;  Kugler:  Gesch.der  Baukunst,  Bd.  i,  s.  372,  and  others  accept  the  ear- 
lier date.  Schnaase:  Gesch.  der  hildende  Kilnste.  2te  Aufl.,  Bd.  iii,  s.  3.  note  4;  Kraus: 
Synchron.  Tab.,  etc.,  s.  18,  and  others  hold  to  the  later  date. 

3  V.  J.  T.  Wood:  Discoveries  at  Ephesus,  Boston,  1857,  pp.  58,  59.  He  believes 
tliat  he  has  discovered  tlie  tomb  of  St.  Luke,  tliat  seems  to  belong  to  the  last  part  of 
the  third  or  to  the  early  part  of  the  fourth  century.  Near  this  was  found  whait  ap- 
peared to  be  a  basilica,  one  of  the  earliest  churches  in  Epiiesus.  v.  pp.  99,  100. 
Many  of  the  sarcophagi  bear  the  well  known  monogram,  A  :^  i2,  of  the  fourth  or 
fifth  century,  v.  p.  120.  Excavations  on  the  sites  of  "the  seven  churches  which 
are  in  Asia,"  promise  well  for  the  illustration  of  the  history.  Much  has  already 
been  done,  but  comparative  studies  are  still  greatly  needed. 


34  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART, 

which  seem  to  date  back  as  early  as  to  the  close  of  the  third  or  to 
the  early  part  of  the  fourth  century,' 

Fourth  Century. — The  able  reign  of  Diocletian  was  to  close 
in  disgrace  and  most  cruel  injustice.  The  fourth  century  opened 
with  the  last  but  most  fearful  trial  by  persecution  to  which  the 
Church  was  to  be  subjected.  Except  in  Gaul,  Britain,  and  Spain, 
where  the  co-regent  was  more  lenient,  the  emperor's  cruel  edicts 
Destruction  of  were  most  mercilessly  executed.  The  imposing  houses 
under"  Dk)cie-  ^^  worship  were  despoiled  of  their  collections  of  sacred 
tian.  writings,  of  their  costly  decorations,  and  of  the  numer- 

ous vessels  of  gold  and  silver  which  were  used  in  the  administration 
of  the  sacraments.  What  treasures  of  art,  what  invaluable  man- 
uscript copies  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  what  wealth  of  materials  for 
the  history  of  the  early  Church,  which  had  been  accumulated  through 
the  previous  forty  years  of  peace,  were  forever  lost  must  remain  a 
matter  of  mere  conjecture.  It  is  only  certain  that  scarcely  a  church 
escaped  this  visitation. 

In  A.  D.  311,  Galerius  issued  his  unlooked-for  edict  of  toleration, 
which  was  followed,  in  A,  D.  313,  by  the  edict  of  the  co-regents, 
Constantine  and  Licinius.  By  its  provisions  all  confiscated  church 
property  was  restored  to  the  Corpus  Christianoritm  at  the  expense 
Restoration  of  ^^  ^^^  imperial  treasury ,2  and  complete  toleration  of 
church  prop-  worship  and  belief  was  granted.  By  the  defeat  of 
*^^"  Licinius  in  A.  D.  323,  Constantine  became  sole    em- 

peror. From  this  event  dates  a  new  period  of  monumental  art  as 
well  as  of  church  history. 

From  the  last  three  quarters  of  the  fourth  century  numerous  in- 

'  "  Recent  researches  in  Africa  have  shown  that  when  properly  explored  we  shall 
certainly  be  able  to  carry  the  history  of  the  Romanesque  style  in  that  country 
back  to  a  date  at  least  a  century  before  his  (Constantine's)  time.  In  Syria  and  Asia 
Minor  so  many  early  examples  have  come  to  light  that  it  seems  probable  that  we 
may,  before  long,  carry  the  history  of  Byzantine  art  back  to  a  date  nearly  approach- 
ing that  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus."  v.  Fergusson:  History  of  Arch., 
vol.  i,  pp.  403,  404.  Hiibsch :  Die  alkhristlichen  Kirchen,  etc.,  Carlsruhe,  1863,  fol., 
ss.  xxiv,  XXV,  etc.,  believes  that  besides  the  so-called  chapels  of  the  catacombs,  the 
churches  San  Alessandro,  San  Steffano,  San  Andrea  in  Barbara,  the  basilica  in  Or- 
leansville,  San  Agostino  in  Spoleto,  and  the  oldest  part  of  the  cathedral  in  Treves,  are 
to  be  referred  to  the  pre-Constantine  period.  Also,  v.  Mothes,  0. :  Die  Baukunst  des 
Mittelalters  in  Italien,  Jena,  1884,  2  vols.,  8vo,  who  holds  to  nearly  like  views.  On  the 
contrary,  Schnaase,  C. :  Gesch.  d.  hilden.  Kiinste,  2te,  Aufl.  1869,  Bd.  iii,  s.  37,  claims 
that  no  churches  which  have  been  preserved  to  our  day  arc  older  than  the  time  of 
Constantine.  Of  nearly  like  opinion  is  Bunsen:  Besclireibung  d.  Stadt  Bom.,  Bd.  i, 
ss.  418,  419. 

^  For  the  account  of  large  suras  given  to  the  African  churches  in  A.D.  314,  v. 
Eusebius:  Hist.  Eccles.,  x,  6,  and  de  Vit.  Const,  iv,  28. 


CHRISTIAN  ART  MONUMENTS.  35 

teresting  monuments  still  survive.     In  all  the  chief  cities  churches 
were   now  built   under    imperial    patronage,  and  orna- 

o?  Revivalof 

mented  and  furnished  with  the  utmost  magnificence,  church  buiid- 
From  this  time  numismatics  and  epigraphy  become  im-  '°^' 
portant  aids  in  the  interpretation  of  Christian  life  and  doctrine. 
To  the  fourth  century  can  probably  be  referred  the  following 
basilicas  at  Rome  :  San  Giovanni  in  Laterano,  founded  about  A.  D. 
340;  Santa  Pudenziana,  enlarged  about  A.  D.  345  (?);  San  Pietro 
in  Vaticano,  about  A.  D.  350;  San  Paolo  fuori  le  mura,  about  A.D. 
386  ;  San  Clemente,  rebuilt  before  A.  D.  392  ;  also  San  Valen- 
tinus  and  cemetery,  337-352,  with  inscriptions,  318-472,  the  oldest 
found  in  an  open-air  cemetery;  which  shows  that  the  cemetery  is 
older  than  the  church.' 

The  catacombs  were  now  less  used  for  interment,  and  less  fre- 
quented by  visitors.  Basilicas,  built  over  or  near  the  entrances  to 
the  catacombs,  supplied  their  place. ^  Portions  of  the 
catacombs  of  Naples  probably  belong  to  a  very  early 
date  in  this  century.  They  are  valuable  for  their  paintings,  and 
for  the  information  which  they  furnish  relative  to  early  Christian 
burial.  Slight  remnants  of  the  Neapolitan  churches,  San  Gennaro 
dei  Poveri,  Santa  Maria  della  Sanita,  and  Santa  Maria  della  Vita, 
also  survive.' 

The  catacombs  of  old  Syracuse  have  awakened  much  careful  in- 
quiry.    Nearly   one   hundred   inscriptions   and    several 

I       J  J  _  •mi  Syracuse. 

paintings  have  been  discovered  and  described.  The 
museum  of  Syracuse  contains  more  than  a  hundred  Christian  lamps 
found  in  the  catacomb  of  San  Giovanni.  The  form,  the  orthog- 
raphy, and  general  contents  of  the  inscriptions,  as  well  as  the  sym- 
bols on  the  lamps,  clearly  indicate  that  they  belong  to  the  last  half 
of  the  fourtli  century.  A  few  may  be  of  the  time  of  Constantine.' 
The  records  establish  the  belief  that  in  the  East  a  very  large 
number  of  churches  were  built  under  the  special  patron-  ^^^^^^  churches 
age  of  Constantine,  his  family,  and  his  immediate  sue-  havedisap- 
cessors.  Unfortunately,  nearly  all  of  these  have  per- 
ished.    The   basilica   of   the    Nativity  at   Bethlehem,   St.   Mary's, 

^v.  Bullettino  della  Commisione  ArcJuologka,  Dec,  1888,  pp.  429-478,  pi.  xix,  xx; 
also  V.  American  Journal  of  Archaoloyy,  vol.  i,  No.  i,  March,  1889,  pp.  118,  119. 

*  Kraus :  Roma  Sotterranea,  s.  98. 

'  Schultze :  Die  Katakomben  von  San  Geimaro  die  Poveri  in  Neapel.  Forster : 
Mittel-u.   Unter  Jtalien,  ss.  414,  429. 

■"Schultze:  Arelueolngische  Studien  iiher  altchrixtliche  J\lonnmente,  ss.  134-139;  de 
Rossi :  Bull.  Arch,  crist.,  1877.  Tav.  x,  xi.  Contra,  and  in  favor  of  a  pre-Christian 
origin,  v.  Quatreinere  de  Quincy,  Hirt,  and  Schubring. 


36  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART, 

remains  to  illustrate  the  character  and  style  of  these  churches." 
Some  interesting  Christian  inscriptions  have  been  found  amidst  the 
massive  ruins  of  Baalbec.  They  seem  to  date  from  about  the  time 
of  the  founding  of  the  Basilica  of  Theodosius,  A.D.  379-395." 

The  catacombs  of  Malta  must  be  assigned  to  the  fourth  or  fifth 
century.  While  Caruana^  holds  that  these  are  of  pagan  origin,  and 
were  transformed  into  a  place  for  Christian  burial  during  the  period 
of  Arabian  dominion,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  ninth  century,  his 
argument  seems  to  be  entirely  unsatisfactory.  The  reference  of 
these  burial  places  to  a  Christian  origin  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  century 
is  much  more  consistent  with  the  facts.  They  suggest  nearly  the 
same  cycle  of  artistic  and  religious  thought  as  the  Roman  catacombs, 
although  the  number  of  objects  is  comparatively  small.  Christian 
inscriptions  of  the  fourth  century,  and  well-preserved  figures  in 
sculpture,  have  been  found  at  Tripoli  in  Asia  Minor.  One  of  these 
is  a  figure  of  Christ  with  the  hammer,  probably  representing  the 
carpenter's  son.'' 

Traces  of  churches,  probably  from  this  century,  have  been  found 

in  Egypt  and  in  the  country  bordering  on  the  West 

churches  in    Mediterranean  in  Africa;^  also  a  few  other  monuments 

Egypt    and    Qf  Christian  orimn  have  been  recently  excavated  in  these 

FrtincG. 

regions.  Likewise  in  middle  and  southern  France,  at 
Aries,  Marseilles,  Narbonne,  Toulouse,  etc..  Christian  monuments 
dating  from  the  fourth  century  have  been  discovered.  Some 
beautiful  sarcophagi  with  Christian  symbols  and  biblical  historic 
scenes,  found  in  these  cities,  are  from  this  time,  while  others 
more  probably  belong  to  the  Merovingian  period.^  Connected  with 
the  churches  of  this  century  are  found  some  beautiful 
mosaics,  while  the  sculptured  sarcophagi  and  a  few 
mural  paintings  in  the  cemeteries  fairly  illustrate  the  condition  of 
Christian  art.  The  numerous  inscriptions  from  the  tombs,  cata- 
combs, and  churches  furnish  interesting  and  valuable  epigraphic 
material,  and  the  coins  of  the  emperors  contain  many  rich  sugges- 
tions. 

Fifth   Cextury. — The  brief  but  earnest   attempt  of  Julian  to 

'  De  Vogiie  maintains  that  the  present  Church  is  the  original  structure.  He  ar- 
gues this  from  the  simphcity  of  the  style,  and  the  entire  absence  of  features  that  are 
peculiar  to  the  buildings  of  Justinian's  day,  as  well  as  from  the  lack  of  references  in 
literature  to  any  clianges. 

^v.  Survey  of  Western  Palestine,  special  papers,  1881,  pp.  135,  136. 

*  Caruana  :  Hypogeum  Tal-Liehru,  Malta.     Malta,  1884. 

*  Survey  of  Western  Palestine^  pp.  152,  153. 
^  Fergusson :    Op.  Cit.,  vol.  i,  pp.  403,  seq. 

*  deCaumont:  Ahecedaire  df  Archeologie ;  Era  Gallo- Romaine,  pp.  350-352. 


CHRISTIAN  ART  MONUMENTS.  37 

revive  the  decaying  heathenism  had  proved  utterly  abortive.  Him- 
self a  pervert  from  Christian  teaching,  his  misdirected  effort  brought 
to  him  deepest  sorrow  and  disappointment.  Notwithstanding  the 
tenacious  life  of  pagan  institutions,  Christianity  was  now  the  ac- 
cepted belief,  and  the  Roman  world  was  thoroughly  pervaded  with 
Christian  thought.  The  Church  had  put  on  the  strength  of  a  long 
organized  institution.  The  monuments  are  now  greatly  multiplied. 
While  this  was  a  century  of  waning  political  power  and    ^        ,  ^ 

•^   .  '^  '^  i  General   deca- 

of  general  art  decadence  in  the  West,  and  the  destruc-    dence  in  tbe 
tive   incursions   of   the   Teutonic   hordes    swept   away    ^®*'^' 
many  of  the  most  noted  and  beautiful  churches,  enough  survives  to 
furnish  highly  valuable  monumental  evidence. 

In  Rome  this  century  is  represented  by  Santa  Sabina  on  the  Via 
Aventina,  built,  as  the  mosaic  inscription  informs  us,  about  A.  D. 
423  by  Pope  Celestine;  and  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  first  built  in  A.  D. 
352,  but  rebuilt  by  Sixtus  III.  in  A.  D.  432.  This  is  probably  the 
earliest  church  of  Rome  that  was  dedicated  to  the  Virgin.  It  con- 
tains some  notewoi'thy  original  mosaics  and  sarcophagi  which  become 
valuable  aids  in  the  illustration  of  the  Christian  sculpture  of  the 
fifth  century. 

San  Pietro  in  Vincoli,  built  by  Eudoxia  between  A.  D.  440  and 
462,  has  well  preserved  the  form  and  general  appearance  other  church- 
of  the  early  Christian  basilica.'  In  a  very  few  in-  es  of  Rome, 
stances  the  furniture  of  the  churches  still  survives.  The  mosaics, 
altars,  ambos,  sarcophagi,  etc.,  which  still  remain  in  these  churches, 
are  of  inestimable  value.  Coins  of  both  the  Eastern  and  the  West- 
ern Empire  now  are  found.  Numismatics  now  becomes  of  real 
confirmatory  service,  especially  in  correcting  chronology.  The 
number  of  Christian  inscriptions  is  very  greatly  increased,  and  they 
assume  more  of  a  dogmatic  character,  thus  clearly  reflecting  the 
strifes  and  controversies  of  the  times. 

During  this  century  Ravenna  ^  becomes  a  most  interesting  center 

1  For  a  full  and  generally  reliable  account  of  the  basilicas  of  Rome  v.  Bunsen  and 
Plattner:  Beschreibimg  Boms.  5  Bde.,  with  magnificent  illustrations  by  Gutensohn 
and  Knapp. 

Hubsch:  Die  altchristliche  Kirchen,  1863. 

H.  Gaily  Knight :    The  Ecclesiastical  Architecture  of  Italy. 

"^  For  a  careful  scientific  description  of  the  Christian  monuments  of  Ravenna,  see 
among  others,  Quast :  Die  alt-christlichen  Bauwerke  von  Ravenna.  1  Bd.  fol.,  Berlin, 
1842. 

Richter,  J.  P.:  Die  Mosaiken  Ravennas.     "Wien,  1878. 

Rahn:  Ravenna,  Eine  kunstgeschichtliche  Sludie.     Leipzig,  1869. 

Berti:  StilV  antico  duomo  di  Ravenna.     Ravenna,  1880. 

Miiutz :    Lost  Mosaics  of  Ravenna,  in  Am.  Journal  of  Archaeology,  vol.  i,  pp.  115-120. 


38  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

of  Christian  monuments  which  greatly  aid  in  understanding  the  con- 
Monuments  of  dition  and  progress  of  Christian  art  in  nearly  every  de- 
Ravenna,  jjartment.  Among  the  most  interesting  buildings  which 
survive  are  the  Baptistery,  Baptisterium  Ecclesiae  Ursianre,  probably 
first  erected  in  the  fourth  century,  but  restored  in  A.  D.  451  by  Arch- 
bishop Nero;  San  Francesco,  from  about  the  middle  of  the  century; 
San  Giovanni  Evangelista,  a  votive  three-naved  church,  built  by  Galla 
Placidia  in  A.  D.  420  ;  SS.  Nazario  e  Celso,  the  place  of  sepulture 
of  Galla  Placidia,  erected  before  A.  D.  450,  is  most  instructive  ; 
Santa  Maria  in  Cosmedin,  an  Arian  baptistery',  very  like  in  form 
and  mosaics  to  Baptisterium  Ecclesias  Ursianae.  These  churches 
are  rich  in  sarcophagi,  altars,  ambos,  and  mosaics. 

Recent  investigations  in  Istria  and  Dalmatia  have  added  to  the 
number  of  valuable  monuments  of  this  period.  At  Salona,  in  Dal- 
matia, a  baptistery  and  a  cemetery-basilica  have  been  uncovered. ^ 

In  the  Byzantine  Empire  very  considerable  archaeological  material 
Tbe  Byzantine  f^'om  the  fifth  century  has  survived.  In  Egypt  and 
Empire.  West   Africa   many  interesting  objects   have    recently 

been  discovered  on  the  sites  of  old  monasteries  which  prove  of 
invaluable  aid  to  the  histor}^  of  monasticism. 

In  southern  and  middle  France  is  found  a  large  number  of  inter- 
esting monuments,  especially  sarcophagi,  which  probably  belong  to 
France  and  the  fifth  century.^  Roman  Judea  and  Samaria,  called 
Palestine.  \n  the  'fifth  century  Palestina  Prima,  had  thirty-three 

episcopal  towns,  but  the  number  of  churches  and  other  objects 
connected  with  Christian  history  hitherto  brcnight  to  light  is  com- 
paratively small.  What  treasures  more  extensive  systematic  exca- 
vations in  the  old  centers  of  Christian  activity  may  yet  reveal  can 
only  be  conjectured.  From  the  rich  finds  at  Troy,  Olympia,  Lar- 
nica,  Pompeii,  etc.,  we  may  hope  that  valuable  results  will  repay 
the  Christian  explorer  in  Palestine. 

Remains  of  many  Christian   churches  and  other  antiquities  are 

found  at  various  points  in  Syria.     Their  chronology  has 

not  been  fully  determined  ;  yet  some  able  archaeologists 

place  them    as  early  as  the  fourth    century.'     They  promise  much 

'  Schultze:  Arch,  der  altch.  KunM,  p.  24;  also:  Ephemeris  Sahnitana.  Jaiiera, 
1894.     Apud  Lucam,  Vitaliani  et  filios. 

^  V.  de  Caumont :  Op.  cit.,  Arcliitecture  Religieuse,  pp.  48-56.    Laborde :  Plate  cviii. 

And  very  excellent  and  thorough,  I.e  Blant :  £tude  sur  les  Sarcophages  chreliens 
antique  de  la  Ville  d'' Aries.  Paris,  1878.  Inscriptions  chretiennes  de  la  Gaule.  1856-65. 
His  Epigraphie  chretienne  is  a  most  convenient  and  instructive  manual. 

'  "  We  are  transported  into  the  midst  of  a  Christian  society ;  we  are  surprised  at  its 
life.  It  is  not  the  concealed  life  of  the  catacombs,  nor  a  humiliating,  timid,  and  suf- 
fering existence  that  is   generally  represented  here;    but  a  life  generous,  opulent, 


CHRISTIAN  ART  MONUMENTS.  39 

for  the  illustration  of  Christian  architecture  in  a  period  hitherto  en- 
veloped in  much  obscurity.  Especially  the  trans-Jordanic  region  must 
hereafter  become  a  most  inviting  field  to  the  Christian  arch^oloo-ist.* 

During  the  excavations  at  Olympia,  in  Greece,  a  Byzantine  church 
Avas    discovered,    also    many    Christian   graves.     This 
church  was  built  on  what  Pausanias  describes  as  the  'y™P'a. 

"  workshop  of  Phidias."  Its  entire  plan  as  well  as  the  rich  details 
seem  to  indicate  a  marked  revival  of  art  in  the  Byzantine  Empire 
during  the  first  half  of  the  fifth  century.^ 

The  archfeological  remains  found  on  numerous  sites  in  Italy,  Al- 
bania, Hungary,  etc.,  which  aid  to  illustrate  the  history  of  the  fifth 
cenrury,  cannot  be  further  described.  They  are  interesting  and  im- 
portant.^ 

Sixth  Century.  Numerous  monuments  still  survive  from  the 
sixth  century.  Notwithstanding  the  general  decadence  of  art  and 
the  fearful  political  upheavals,  several  imposing  churches  are  be- 
lieved to  have  been  built  in  Rome  during  this  century,  g.^^^  century 
The  older  parts  of  San  Lorenzo  and  of  Santa  Balbina  churches  in 
are  generally  referred  to  this  period.  In  Ravenna  por-  ^°™^- 
tions  of  the  churches  of  San  Apollinare  Nuovo,  Santa  Maria  della 

aitistic,  in  grand  houses  .  .  .  and  magnificent  cliurclies,  flanked  with  towers  and 
surrounded  with  elegant  tombs.  .  .  .  Tlie  clioice  of  (Scripture)  texts  indicates  an 
epoch  near  to  tlie  triumph  of  the  Cliurch ;  there  prevails  an  accent  of  victory.  .  .  . 
The  date  of  the  Roman  epoch  is  given  not  only  by  the  style  of  the  architecture,  but 
by  inscriptions  of  considerable  number  which  form  an  almost  continuous  chain  from 
the  first  to  the  fourth  century." — De  Yogue:  Syrie  Centrale;  Architecture  Civile  et 
Religieuse,  vol.  i,  pp.  7,  8. 

W.  Waddington,  who  accompanied  De  Vogiie  on  his  tour  of  discoverj^  has  given 
the  archaeology,  the  history,  and  the  inscriptions  of  this  interesting  region  under  the 
title  of  Inscriptions  Grecques  et  Latines  de  la  Syrie,  1870. 

'  '•  That  the  Christians  were  in  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  centuries  spread  through 
the  whole  country,  the  survey  abundantly  testifies ;  from  the  deserts  of  Beersheba 
to  the  slopes  of  Hermon  we  have  come  across  innumerable  churches  which  cannot  be 
dated  hiter  than  that  period.  The  nomenclature  of  the  country  bears  witness  to  the 
existence  of  flourishing  communities,  charitable  convents,  and  holy  Christian  sites, 
in  every  part;  and  the  titles  given  to  manv  ruins  show  the  fate  they  finally  under- 
went in  perishing  by  fire."     v.  C.  R.  Conder:   Survey  of  Western  Palestine. 

Special  Papers:    Christian  and  Jewish  Traditions,  p.  232. 

V.  also.  Merrill :  East  of  the  Jordan. 

^  V.  Curtius,  Hirschfeld,  etc. :  Ausgrahungen  zu  Olympia,  Bd.  ii,  ss.  6  and  18.  For 
description  of  Church  v.  Bd.  iii.  ss.  29-32.     For  plans,  etc.,  v.  Bd.  iii,  Taf.  xxxvi. 

^v.  especially  Garrucci:  Isloria  delV  Arte  Christiana.  Prato,  1875-79.  5  vols, 
fol.  Yol.  i,  Text;  vol.  ii,  Burial  monuments,  plates,  and  explanations  ;  vol.  iii,  Mon- 
uments other  than  burial ;  vol.  iv,  Mosaics  in  catacombs  and  elsewhere ;  vol.  v,  Sar- 
cophagi in  cemeteries.  Magnificently  executed,  and  a  latest  authority  from  the 
Catholic  standpoint,  yet  extreme  in  his  theory  of  Christian  symbolism. 


40  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

Rotonda  (the  burial  chapel  of  Theocloric),  San  Apollinare  in  Classe, 
Ravenna  ^^^^   the   most   interesting  and  instructive  of   all,  San 

churches.  Vitale,  are  yet  preserved.     Though  it  has  been  much 

tampered  with,  the  dome  of  the  small  baptistery  of  San  Giovanni 
in  fonte,  in  Naples,  contains  some  very  rich  mosaics  of  the  latter 
Byzantine  half  of  this  century.     In  Constantinople  St.  Sophia  is 

churches.  ^\^q  most  magnificent  monument.     Traces  of  two  other 

churches  are  still  seen  in  this  capital.  Some  of  the  original  portions 
of  St,  George  in  Thessalonica,  the  modern  Salonica,  survive,  with  some 
of  the  richest  mosaics  of  the  century.'  St,  Catharine,  on  Mount  Sinai, 
must  also  be  referred  to  this  century.  A  few  other  churches  of 
this  period  which  retain  some  parts  of  their  original  structure  are 
found  scattered  over  the  old  empire,  both  east  and  west.  Numerous 
sites  furnish  individual  objects  of  great  interest.  In  Syria,  Asia 
Minor,  Greece,  Hungary,  Egypt,  Numidia,  Cyrene,  Carthage,  Spain, 
and  southern  France  explorations  are  yielding  rich  results  which 
happily  illustrate  the  stage  of  art  advancement  and  the  condition 
of  religious  and  ecclesiastical  thought  of  the  early  Christian 
centuries. 

The  archfeological  societies  of  Germany  and  Great  Britain  have 
been  most  diligent  and  zealous  in  the  discovery  and  description  of 
much  that  has  enriched  the  materials  for  writing  the  history  of  the 
christianization  of  the  original  dwellers  in  those  lands.  Especially 
along  the  borders  of  the  Rhine  and  its  immediate  tributaries  these 
archaeological  researches  have  been  abundantly  rewarded,  Avhile 
in  England,  Wales,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  unexpected  treasures  liave 
been  discovered.^ 

Some  beautifully  illuminated  manuscripts  from  the  sixth  century 
have  also  been  preserved,  which  show  the  complete  subjection  of  art 
to  ecclesiastical  service,  especially  in  the  Greek  Church.  A 
regular  series  of  illustrations  of  the  Book  of  Genesis,'  in  ten  plates, 
is  found  in  a  manuscript  preserved  in  Vienna.  Also  in  the  Codex 
Syriacus,  now  in  the  Laurentian  library  of  Florence,  are  plates  from 

'  Texiere  &  Pullan :  Byzantine  Architecture,  Plates  xxx,  xxxi,  xxxii,  xxxiii,  xxxiv, 
XXXV,  and  pp.  136-141.  These  authors  also  hold  that  St.  Sophia  of  Thessalonica 
also   belongs   to  this  century. 

'^Invaluable  materials  have  been  collected  in  the  art  journals  of  Germany,  as  the 
Zeikchrift  fiir  christl.  Archceologie  und  Kunst,  the  Organ  filr  clvristl.  Kunst,  the  Chris- 
liche  Kunsfblatt,  etc.,  and  in  the  proceedings  of  the  local  art  and  archteological 
societies.  The  Christian  inscriptions  found  in  the  British  Islands  have  been  col- 
lected and  edited  by  Huebner :  Inscriptiones  BritanniccB  Christiance.  Berlin  aud 
London,  1876. 

^v.  Garrucci:  Op.  cit.,  vol.  iii.  These  have  been  described  by  Daniel  de  Nessel,  v. 
also  d'Agincourt:  t.  ii,  pp.  49,  50,  and  plate  xix. 


CHRISTIAN  ART  MONUMENTS.  41 

the  sixth  century,'  in  which  the  life  of  Christ  and  the  events  of  the 
Church  to  the  day  of  Pentecost  are  pictured.  In  the  Codex  Vati- 
canus  are  eleven  plates  devoted  to  Old  Testament  scenes.  A  series 
of  paintings  illustrating  the  book  of  Joshua'^  and  thirty-six 
pictures,  in  gold  and  colors,  of  ecclesiastical  vessels,  etc.,  are  in  the 
Vatican  library. 

The  number  of  art  monuments  belonging  to  the  first  six  cen- 
turies of  the  Christian  era  is  very  great.  They  furnish  illustrations 
of  nearly  every  branch  of  Christian  art,  and  become  the  silent 
and  unconscious  witnesses  to  the  life,  the  belief,  and  the  social  con- 
dition of  the  early  Church.  Many  have  been  arranged  in  museums 
for  purposes  of  convenient  study,  and  the  zeal  of  investigators  seems 
never  to  abate.  While  it  is  very  difficult  to  give  these  monuments 
a  classification  according  to  chronological  order,  and  different  ar- 
chaeologists differ  widely  in  opinion  with  regard  to  their  age,  they 
must,  nevertheless,  be  regarded  as  invaluable  auxiliaries  to  the  com- 
plete understanding  of  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church.^ 

'Some  refer  this  manuscript  to  the  fourth  century,  v.  d'Agincourt:  t.  ii,  pp.  52, 
53,  plate  xxvii.     Others  assign  it  to  a  later  date  than  the  sixth  century. 

2  d'Agincourt:  t.  ii,  pp.  53,  54,  plate  xxxviii.     Garrucci :   Op.  cit,  vol.  iii. 

These  interesting  manuscripts  are  more  fully  described  under  chapter  iv. 

^An  immense  amount  of  materials  has  been  accumulated  in  the  transactions  of 
learned  societies,  and  in  the  journals  that  are  especially  devoted  to  Christian  ar- 
chffiology.  Probably  the  foremost  among  the  latter  are  the  Bullettino  Arcliceologia  cris- 
tiano  of  Kome,  which  has  been  the  special  organ  of  de  Rossi  and  his  learned  and  en- 
thusiastic associates,  and  the  Reviije  Archceologique,  which  has  been  conducted  with 
marked  ability  for  many  years. 


42  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART  DURING   THE   FIRST  SIX 

CENTURIES. 

It  lias  been  common  with  one  class  of  writers  to  represent  the  early- 
Christian  Church  as  indifferent  or  even  hostile  to  the  fine  arts.  By 
some  the  teaching  of  the  Christian  fathers  has  been  declared  antag- 
onistic to  art;  by  others  this  view  has  been  controverted.'  Much  of 
Christianity  ^^^^  Contrariety  of  opinion  is  plainly  attributable  to  a 
not  hostile  to  failure  to  notice  the  varying  condition  and  the  ever 
shifting  environment  of  the  Church  of  the  first  three 
centuries.  Three  questions  need  to  be  considered:  1.  The  Jewish 
Three  chief  Origin  of  the  first  Christian  converts,  and  the  peculiarity 
questions.  ^^   ^^le  Semitic  imagination.     2.  The  diverse  opinions 

held  by  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks  with  respect  to  the  nature  and  rev- 
elation of  God.  3.  The  growing  influence  of  Christianity  through 
the  conversion  of  cultivated  and  wealthy  pagans,  and  its  final 
adoption  as  the  state  religion. 

1.  Christ  and  his  first  apostles  were  Jews.  For  nearly  a  gen- 
eration after  the  ascension  many  of  the  adherents  to  the  new  faith 
were  of  Jewish  origin,  felt  the  obligation  of  the  Jewish  law,  and 
loved  the  Jewish  ritual.     In  their  earlier  history  the 

First  Christ-  i  -n  •  i         • 

ians  of  Jewish  Hebrews  had  been  a  pastoral  people.  Prior  to  the  time 
origin.  ^£  ^j^g  kings  their  intercourse  with  other  nations  had 

been  very  limited.  These  circumstances  were  unfavorable  to  art 
origination  and  culture.  After  their  return  from  the  Babylonian 
captivity,  the  custom  of  carefully  refraining  from  intermarriage  with 
the  suiTounding  peoples  made  their  isolation  still  more  complete. 
Jewish  exciu-  From  this  time  Judaism  assumed  an  exclusiveness  be- 
siveness.  fore  entirely  unknown.     While  a  nominal  dependency 

of  Persia,  the  Jews  had  been  content  to  purchase  peace  and  quietude 
by  prompt  payment  of  tribute  money.  Their  influence  seemed  so  in- 
significant that  the  Jews  of  Palestine  were  scarcely  thought  worthy  of 
mention  by  the  Greek  historians  of  Alexander's  time.  Those  who  had 
been  transported  to  the  newly  founded  African  metropolis  furnish  a 
partial  exception  to  this  exclusiveness;  nevertheless  their  attempt  to 
harmonize  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  with  the  current  Greek  thought 

'  Dorner:  Lehre  vonder  Person  Christi,  i.  s.  290,  note. 


RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART.  43 

awakened  in  the  minds  of  the  Jews  of  Palestine  a  hatred  scarcely 

less  bitter  than  was  felt  toward  the  Samaritans  them-    ^ 

Depressed  con- 

selves.  "  The  f oundmg  of  the  Syro-Grecian  kingdom  by  dition  of  Jew- 
Seleucus  and  the  establishment  of  the  capitol  at  Antioch  ^^'^  People, 
brought  Judea  into  the  unfortunate  situation  of  a  weak  province, 
placed  between  two  great  conflicting  monarchies."  '  From  this  time 
the  condition  of  the  Jewish  people  became  deplorable  in  the  extreme. 
It  was  one  continuous  struggle  for  existence  from  without,  a  state 
of  fierce  contentions  and  rivalries  within.  Even  the  patriotism 
of  the  Maccabean  princes  proved  only  the  brilliant  flicker  of  an  ex- 
piring national  life.  True,  the  Jews  were  no  insignificant  factor  in 
the  society  and  business  of  many  of  the  cities  of  the  empire.  In 
Alexandria  and  in  Rome  a  separate  quarter  was  assigned  to  them." 
Hellenizing  influences  had,  indeed,  been  marked  and  powerful.  Nev- 
ertheless, they  remained  essentially  isolated  in  religion  and  in  social 
customs;^  while  the  partial  syncretism  of  thought  and  style  which 
sometimes  resulted  must  be  regarded  as  unfavorable  to    „.  .       ..,. 

o  _  Theircondition 

a  healthy  art  development.     From  the  time  of  their    unfavorable  to 
return  from  Babylon  to  the  days  of  Christ,  therefore,    ^^t  culture, 
their  conditions,  social,  financial,  commercial,   and  religious,   were 
least  favorable  to  the  successful  cultivation  of  the  fine  arts. 

While  the  second  commandment  evidently  acted  as  a  check  to 
the  encouragement  of  painting  and  sculpture,  its  prohibition  of  art 
representation  cannot  be  regarded  as  absolute.^  It  must  apply 
mainly  to  images  which  tempt  to  idolatry.  The  sub-  The  second 
sequent  history  of  the  Hebrews  and  their  divinely  notprohiwtory 
instituted  ritual  justify  this  opinion.  The  injunction  to  of  art. 
Moses  "  to  destroy  the  altars  of  the  people,  to  break  their  images, 

'  Milman :  History  of  the  Jews.     4th  edition,  London,  1866,  vol.  i,  pp.  450,  451. 

'  For  their  numbers  and  influence  in  Cicero's  day,  v.p7-o  Flacco,  28;  in  the  reigns 
of  Julius  and  Augustus,  v  Suetonius,  Ccesar,  84;  Tiberius,  36;  Josephus,  Antiq., 
xvii,  11,1;  xviii,  3,  5. 

3  On  their  social  standing  at  Rome  v.  Hausrath:  NeutestamentUche  ZeitgescMchte, 
2te  Aufl.,  Bd.  iii,  ss.  71-81. 

For  the  epigraphic  evidence  of  the  constitution  of  the  Jewish  society  at  Rome  v. 
Schiirer's  valuable  monograph,  Die  Gemeindeverfassung  der  Juden  in  Rom.  Leipzig, 
1879. 

*  "  It  may,  perhaps,  be  admitted  that  the  prohibition  expressed  in  our  verse  [Exod. 
XX,  4]  has  exerted  a  retarding  influence  upon  the  progress  and  development  of  the 
plastic  arts  among  tiie  Hebrews,  as  a  like  interdiction  in  the  Koran  has  produced 
a  similar  effect  among  the  Arab  tribes ;  for  plastic  art,  in  its  beginnings,  equally 
stands  in  the  service  of  religion,  and  advances  by  the  stimulus  it  affords.  But  it  is 
an  incomprehensible  mistake  if  it  is  believed  that  plastic  arts  in  general,  sculpture 
and  painting,  are  forbidden  in  our  text." — Kalisch:  Historical  and  Critical  Commen- 
tary of  the  Old  Testament. 


44  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

and  cut  down  their  groves"  (Exod.  xxiv,  13),  and  the  sweeping  pro- 
hibition, "Thou  shalt  make  thee  no  molten  gods"  (ver.  17),  are 
coupled  with  the  reason,  "  For  thou  shalt  worship  no  other  god, 
for  the  Lord  whose  name  is  Jealous  is  a  jealous  God"  (ver.  14).  It 
was,  therefore,  "  images  of  gods  "  and  not  every  species  of  art  repre- 
sentation whose  making  was  here  forbidden.  The  preparation  of  the 
tabernacle  and  of  its  furniture  were  of  divine  appointment  and  after 
a  divinely  given  pattern  (Exod.  xxv,  9).  The  artificers  of  the  work, 
Bezalel  and  Oholiab,  were  called  and  inspired  of  God  (Exod.  xxxv, 
30,  31,  and  xxxvi,  1).  This  was  the  prevalent  opinion  among  the 
Jews  in  the  time  of  Christ  (Heb.  viii,  5).  Yet  on  the  furniture 
A  heavenly  of  the  tabernacle  were  representations  of  vegetable 
pattern  for  the    f^^.j^g  ^s  the  almond-shaped  bowls  of  the  candlesticks 

tabernacle  fur-  '  ^ 

niture.  (Exod.  XXV,  33),  and  the  pomegranates  and  bells  of  gold 

on  the  hem  of  the  priest's  ephod  (Exod.  xxviii,  33,  34);  also  of 
animal  forms,  as  the  golden  cherubim  (Exod.  xxv,  18-20),  and 
the  embroidered  cherubs  upon  the  particolored  veil  dividing  "  be- 
tween the  holy  place  and  the  most  holy  "  (Exod.  xxvi,  31-33). 

Four  and  a  half  centuries  later,  when  the  government  had  taken 
on  the  form  of  an  hereditary  monai'chy,  David  essayed  to  build  a 
resting-place  for  the  ark  of  God.  The  scriptural  account  conveys 
the  impression  that  this  temple,  built  by  Solomon,  was  after  a  pat- 
tern revealed  by  God  to  David  (1  Chron.  xxviii,  6,  10,  12,  19,  and 
2  Chron.  vi,  10;  per  contra,  1  Kings  v,  6;  2  Chron.  ii,  3,  7;  1  Kings 
vi,  2;  2  Chron.  vi,  2).  The  connection  of  the  choice  of  the  site 
The  temple  with  the  teiTible  punishment  of  the  sin  of  taking  the 
site.  census  of  Israel  gave  to  this  temple  a  most  solemn  in- 

terest. This  threshing-floor  of  the  fallen  Jebusite  king,  where  first 
was  given  the  vision  of  the  coming  pestilence,  became  the  center  of 
the  national  worship  for  more  than  a  thousand  years,  and  to-day  is 
held  in  equal  veneration  by  the  conquering  sons  of  Ishmael.  The 
temple  hereon  erected  was  far  more  than  an  architectural  display. 
It  supplied  the  framework  of  the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah. 
It  was  the  center  of  the  whole  religious  life  of  Israel.'  Slight  as 
is  our  knowledge  of  the  details,  it  is  plain  that  "  its  general  arrange- 
ments were  taken  from  those  of  the  tabernacle."^  Such  was  the 
Jewish  opinion  to  a  very  late  period  of  their  national  history.  Its 
form  and  size  were  similar  to  those  of  the  tabernacle.^  It  is  certain 
that  the  introduction  of  vegetable  and  animal  forms  into  the  structure 
and  furniture  of  the  temple  of  Solomon  was  still  more  free  than  in 

^  Stanley:  Eist.  of  the  Jewish  Church,  2d  series,  p.  150. 

"^  Ewald :  Hist,  of  Israel,  vol.  iii,  p,  247. 

'  Fergusson:  v.  article  "Temple,"  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 


RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART.  45 

the  case  of  the  tabernacle.  Besides  the  golden  cherubim  were  now 
found  the  twelve  oxen  or  bulls  of  brass,  supporting  the  vcKetabie  and 
great  brazen  laver,  while  the  lesser  lavers  rested  ^""^'^'  forms, 
upon  forms  of  cherubs,  lions,  and  bulls.  In  addition  to  almonds 
and  pomegranates  lilies  are  now  found,  or,  as  some  understand 
the  text,  the  great  laver  itself  was  in  the  form  of  a  flower  of  the 
lily. 

These  arrangements  plainly  show  that  the  second  commandment 
could  not  have  been  sweeping  in  its  denunciation  of  the  arts  of  form, 
or  else  there  is  in  both  the  tabernacle  and  temple  a  like  wide  depart- 
ure from  the  spirit  of  the  law.  The  latter  alternative  opinion  can 
hardly  comport  with  the  manifest  claims  of  each  structure  to  a 
divine  origin.  While  we  must,  therefore,  doubt  the  exclusiveness 
of  the  prohibition  expressed  in  the  second  commandment  with 
reference  to  the  use  of  art  forms  in  the  sacred  edifices  and  ritual 
of  the  Jews,'  there  can  be  as  little  doubt  that  this  law  greatly 
discouraged  the  cultivation  of  the  arts  of  form.  Where-  The  command- 
ever  reliarion,  which  is  the  chief  inspiration  and  patron    ^lent     never- 

.         .  theless  a   hin- 

of  high  art,  is  hostile  or  indifferent,  the  cultivation  of    derance  to  art 
art  must  languish  and  the  character   of   its  products    patronage, 
become  indifferent. 

We  must,  however,  find  the  solution  of  the  slender  products  of 
this  people  in  sculpture,  painting,  and  architecture  chiefly  in  the 
peculiar  character  of  the  Semitic  imagination.  This  The  peculiarity 
has  been  noticed  by  students  of  general  art  history,  as  of  the  Semitic 
well  as  by  writers  on  Hebrew  poetry  and  music'  imagination. 

This  people  was  not  wanting  in  imagination  or  in  art  suscepti- 
bility. Few  came  nigher  to  the  heart  of  nature,  none  w^ere  more 
sensitive  to  her  subtler  beauties.^  But  the  Semitic  imagination  was 
wild  and  restless ;  it  was  strong,  daring,  and  impetuous.     It  had  a 

'  "  Even  the  principle  of  the  second  commandment,  that  Jehovah  is  not  to  be 
worshipped  by  images,  which  is  often  appealed  to  as  containing  tlie  most  character- 
istic peculiarity  of  Mosaism,  cannot,  in  the  light  of  history,  be  viewed  as  having  had 
80  fundamental  a  place  in  the  religion  of  early  Israel.  The  state  worship  of  the 
golden  calves  led  to  no  quarrel  between  Elisha  and  the  dynasty  of  Jehu  ;  and  this 
one  fact  is  sufficient  to  show  that,  even  in  a  time  of  notable  revival,  the  living  power 
of  the  religion  was  not  felt  to  lie  in  the  principle  that  Jeliovah  cannot  be  represented 
by  images." — W.  Robertson  Smith,  The  Prophets  of  Israel,  pp.  62,  63. 

2  Hotho:  Geschichte  d.  ch.  Malerei.   Stuttgart,  1867.  Iten  Absch.,  He  cap.,  ss.  24.  seg. 

Schnaase:  Geschichte  d.  Uldenden  Kmiste,  2te  Aufl.  Dusseldorf,  1866-78.  Bd.  i, 
3te  Bd.  cap.  3,  ss.  232.  seq. 

Bp.  Lowth:  Sacred  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews.     London,  1847.     Lect.  13,  et  al. 

^  Conip.  Psa.  viii,  3,  4 ;  xix,  1.4,  5 ;  civ,  1,  2,  24 ;  Isa.  xl,  22 ;  Hos.  v,  7  ;  Sirach 
xiiii,  1,  9,  11,  12  ;  Matt,  vi,  28,  29;  1  Cor.  xv,  41,  etc. 


46  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

direct  and  manifest  influence  upon  the  logical  faculty.'  It  gave 
tone  and  hue  to  much  of  their  sacred  literature.  This  inquietude 
causes  every  figurative  representation  that  flits  before  the  mind  to 
Effect  of  its  l*e  quickly  supplanted  by  another.  Either  the  first  is 
impetuosity.  inadequate  for  the  metaphorical  purpose,  and  the 
second  is  summoned  to  complete  it;  or  through  the  manifoldness  of 
its  appearance  it  brings  to  mind  yet  something  else  that  is  closely 
related  to  the  subject  in  hand,  which  thus  becomes  blended  with 
the  first  picture  of  the  fancy,  only  to  obscure  and  weaken  the 
sharpness  of  its  outline.^  Hebrew  poetry  furnishes  numerous 
illustrations  of  this  principle,  and  the  writings  of  the  Prophets  con- 
firm it.^  Take  the  passage  in  1  Kings  xiv,  15,  as  an  example  of 
Examples  from  the  restlessness  and  impetuosity  of  the  Hebrew  imag- 
scripture.  ination.     Israel  is  here  represented  as  a  person  who  is 

to  receive  chastisement  at  the  hand  of  the  Lord.  Its  infliction 
causes  him  to  reel,  which  effort  suggests  the  slender  reed  shaken  by 
the  resistless  blast.  This  new  object  to  which  the  attention  is 
directed  is  now  the  recipient  of  a  further  action — the  rooting  out 
of  the  land — thus  calling  up  the  promised  inheritance.  The 
further  effect  of  the  chastisement  is  not  only  the  removal  to 
another  place,  but  the  scattering  beyond  the  river,  and  the  dis- 
solution of  this  personified  Israel  into  its  individual  members.* 
The  picture  of  the  blessings  of  Christ's  kingdom  as  given  in  Isa. 
xxxii,  2,  is  another  example  of  the  same  restlessness  of  fancy.  The 
primal  notion  of  safety  and  nourishment  is  plain  and  simple;  but 
the  imagination  rushes  from  "  a  hiding-place  from  the  wind  and  a 
covert  from  the  storm "  to  "  rivers  of  waters  in  a  dry  place,"  and 
thence  to  "  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land."  Here  is  unity  of  thought, 
but  we  attempt  in  vain  to  reproduce  by  arts  that  appeal  to  the  eye  the 
diverse  objects  here  presented.  Of  Isa.  xiv,  4,  27,  an  enthusiastic 
admirer  and  commentator  of  the  Hebrew  poetry  has  written,  "  How 
forcible  is  this  imagery,  how  diversified,  how  sublime  !  How  ele- 
vated the  diction,  the  figures,  the  sentiments  !  The  Jewish  nation, 
the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  the  ghosts  of  the  departed  kings,  the  Baby- 
lonish monarch,  the  travelers  who  find  the  corpse,  and,  last  of  all, 

'  e.  g.,  the  ciiriou!?  and  repeated  involutions  of  the  argument  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Komans  ;  thus  greatly  adding  to  the  difficulties  of  its  exegesis.  This  was  noticed  by 
Irenseus  (Adv.  llaer.,  lii,  1,  §  2)  who  attributes  the  irregularities  of  Paul's  style  to 
the  impetuosity  of  the  spirit  luithiii  him. 

^  Schnaase :  Op.  cit.,  Bd.  i,  s.  2?.6. 

'v.  1  Kings  xiv,  15;  Psa.  xviii;  Isa.  xiv,  4,  27;  xxxii,  2;  xxxviii,  11,  14,  and 
numerous  other  passages. 

^  V.  Schnanse :    Op.  cit,  ibid. 


RELATIONS  UF  CHRISTIANITY   ro  ART.  47 

Jehovah  himself,  are  the  characters  that  support  this  lyric  drama."' 
While  the  imagery  is  poetic,  it  is  incapable  of  representation  by 
painting  or  sculpture.  This  restless  impetuosity  of  imagination  is 
found  not  only  in  warnings  and  prophecies  of  destruction,  but  in 
depicting  peaceful  scenes,  holy  triumphs,  pastoral  simplicity,  and 
even  in  historic  narration. 

It  is  a  well  accepted  principle  of  formative  art  that  it  requires  a 
measure  of  fixedness  and  repose.  This  limits  the  im-  Accepted  a  r  t 
agination  to  a  single  and  well  defined  subject.  A  paint-  principle. 
ing  implies  limitation  in  time  and  place  ;  a  statue  is  the  crystalliza- 
tion of  one  leading  thought  ;  high  architecture  obeys  the  laws  of 
symmetry  and  proportion.  These  arts  demand  unity,  sharpness 
of  outline,  and  obedience  to  well  settled  principles  of  execution. 
We  have  only  to  refer  to  the  above-mentioned  products  of  the 
Jewish  imagination,  or  recall  some  of  the  invocations  to  praise,  or 
the  description  of  God's  majestic  ways  in  nature,  as  found  in  the 
Book  of  Job,  the  Psalms,  or  the  Prophets,  to  be  convinced  that  the 
Semitic  imagination  was  too  restlessly  nervous,  or  too  daring  in  its 
flights,  to  obey  the  canons  imposed  on  sculpture,  painting,  and  archi- 
tecture. 

Like  results  are  reached  from  the  study  of  the  Solomonic  temple 
and  the    sculptured    and   pictorial   forms  which    were    Conflrmation 
admitted  into  the  ornamentation  of  its  furniture.     The    ^"l""!  examples 

or  the   lorma- 

outline  of  this   sacred    building  was    that  of    a  mere    tivearts. 
box,  destitute  of  artistic  proportions  or  elegance.*     The   beautiful 
symmetry,  the  harmony  of  color,  and  the  perfection  of  details,  met 
in  the  Greek  temple  of  the  golden  age,  are  in  marked  contrast  with 
the  baldness  of  form  and  the  barbaric  splendor  of  Solomon's  tem- 
ple.    Even  more  striking  is  the  difference  between  the    The  Jewish 
few  artistic  forms  which  were  allowed  in  the  one  and    temple. 
those  adorning  the  temple  of  a  Zeus  or  of  an  Athene.     The  figures 

'  Bp.  Lowth:   Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry,  Loct.  13. 

^  Dean  Milman  seems  to  convey  an  erroneous  impression  of  the  architectural  pecu- 
liarities of  Solomon's  temple  when  he  says,  "  Yet  in  some  respects,  if  the  measure- 
ments are  correct,  the  temple  must  rather  have  resembled  the  form  of  a  simple  Gothic 
church.'' — Hist  of  the  Jervs,  Book  vii.  It  is  difficult  to  trace  any  likeness  in  these 
two  widely  separated  and  very  diverse  styles  of  architecture.  Indeed,  we  could 
hardly  find  a  stronger  contrast  than  exists  between  Solomon's  temple  and  a  Gothic 
church.  More  correct  is  his  statement,  p.  311 :  "  The  temple  itself  was  rather  a 
monument  of  tiie  wealth  than  of  the  architectural  skill  and  science  of  the  people." 
Dean  Stanley's  estimate  is  certainly  justified  by  the  best  results  of  modern  investi- 
gation: "  The  outside  view  must,  if  we  can  trust  the  numbers,  have  been,  according 
to  modern  notions,  strangely  out  of  proportion." — The  Jewish  Church,  London,  1875, 
vol.  i,  p.  174. 


48  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

of  the  cherubim  which  overshadowed  the  mercy-seat  were  of  olive- 
Examples  of  wood,  overlaid  with  gold  (1  Kings  vi,  23-28).  These 
sculpture.  figures  were  colossal,  but  were  wanting  in  symmetry, 

while  their  lack  of  adjustment  to  the  containing  space  manifested 
an  indifference  to  artistic  harmony.  In  the  descriptions  of  the 
seraphim  in  the  vision  of  Isaiah  (Isa.  vi),  and  of  the  cherubim  in 
the  vision  of  Ezekiel  (Ezek.  xli),  all  is  wild  and  involved.  In 
these  forms  is  noticed  an  absence  of  unity  and  proportion,  an 
impatience  of  boundary  and  definition.  They  transcend  the  limits 
of  the  human,  and  are  allied  to  the  mysterious  and  the  supernatural. 

This  idiosyncrasy,  so  unfavorable  to  arts  which  appeal  to  the  eye, 
is  not  incompatible  with  high  excellence  in  poetry  and  music.  Nev- 
Greek  and  He-  ^I'theless,  a  like  diversity  may  be  traced  in  the  poetry 
brew  poetry  of  the  Jews  and  of  the  Greeks.  This  is  manifest  from  a 
con  ras  e  .  careful  comparison  of  passages  from  the  Hebrew  bards 
with  those  taken  from  Homer,  where  like  objects  are  described,  or 
like  poetic  images  are  involved.  Homer  treats  each  element  of  the 
figure  consecutively  and  exhaustively;  the  Hebrew  bard  flits  from 
point  to  point  in  rapid  succession.  Homer  gives  many  elements  of 
one  view;  the  Hebrew  presents  single  elements  of  many  views.' 

2.  The  relations  of  the  divine  to  the  human  as  conceived  by  the 
Semitic  mind  were  very  different  from  those  recognized  by  the 
Hellenic  peoples.  The  monotheism  of  the  Hebrews  was  peculiar. 
The  Hebrew  Their  Jehovah  was  not  merely  the  one  living  and 
monotheism.  ^^.^^^  God,  but  he  was  at  the  same  time  the  illimitable 
and  unfathomable  Mystery,  the  Unapproachable,  whom  no  form 
can  contain,  no  symbol  may  adequately  represent.  The  assurance 
given  to  Moses,  "  Thou  canst  not  see  my  face,  for  no  man  shall  see 
me  and  live  "  (Exod.  xxxiii,  20),  inspired  in  the  worshiper  a  pervad- 
ing awe.  The  infinity  of  the  attributes  of  One  whom  "  the  heaven 
and  the  heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain  "  (2  Chron.  ii,  18),  "the 

1  Of  the  Hebrew  lyric  poetry,  as  an  exhibition  of  the  Hebrew  imagination,  Lotze 


"Here  the  mind  dwells  upon  its  communion  with  God,  and  extols  with  al!  the 
power  of  the  most  passionnte  expression,  as  proof  of  divine  omnipotence,  every  deep- 
Lotze's  opln-  folt  individual  feature  of  cosmic  beauty.  For  among  the  divine  attri- 
lon.  butes  it  is  certainly  omnipotence  which,  above  all,  is  felt,  and  gives 

a  coloring  to  aesthetic  imagination;  we  do,  indeed,  meet  with  innumerable  pictures 
of  nature  which,  taken  separately,  have  often  that  inimitable  beauty  and  charm 
which  civilization,  entangled  by  a  thousand  unessential  accessories  of  thought,  finds 
it  so  difficult  to  attain;  but  these  pictures  are  not  utilized  for  the  development  of  a 
progressive  course  of  thought,  but  merely  juxtaposed  as  though  to  magnify  from  dif- 
ferent but  corresponding  sides  the  omnipresent  influence  of  that  divine  activity  which 
they  depict."     v.  Microcosmus,  translation.  New  York,  1885,  vol.  ii,  p.  403. 


RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART.  49 

King  eternal,  immortal,  invisible,  the  only  wise  God"  (1  Tim.  i,  17), 
made  the  fitting  representation  of  Jehovah  through  form  or  symbol 
inconceivable  and  self-contradictory.  Of  all  the  Oriental  peoples 
the  Jews  most  abhorred  the  degradation  of  Deity  to  the  plane 
of  nature  ;  the  forces  of  nature  were  only  the  agents  and  instru- 
ments of  God  which  he  used  to  accomplish  his  will.  Yet,  while  the 
second  commandment  prohibited  the  making  of  graven  images  as 
likenesses  of  God,  it  did  not  prohibit  artistic  work  as  a  whole,  and 
the  evidence  we  have  sustains  the  position  that  the  Jews  mani- 
fested considerable  artistic  ability  in  the  way  of  carving  in  wood 
and  metal,  and  in  embroidery.  Since,  however,  there  was  but  one 
temple  there  was  lacking  that  inspiration  to  artistic  genius  which 
would  have  resulted  from  the  establishment  of  splendid  sanctuaries 
of  their  religion  in  many  places,  and  art  among  the  Jews  had  but  a 
partial  development. 

How  different  was  the  thought  of  pagan  Greece  and  Rome  ! 
While  in  their  early  history  both  these  peoples  were  eminently  re- 
ligious, their  conceptions  of  the  divine  were  nevertheless  in- 
distinct and  shifting.  The  most  devout  Greeks  could  The  Greek  my- 
affirm  without  public  offence  that  Hesiod  and  Homer  thoiogy. 
were  the  authors  of  their  mythology.  Their  opinion  of  the  deities 
was  fixed  neither  by  law  nor  by  the  authority  of  a  divinely  insti- 
tuted pi-iesthood.  The  priests  were  not  a  favoured  class,  but  were 
generally  chosen  from  year  to  year  to  minister  to  the  people  and 
communicate  the  will  of  the  gods.  Nature  was  not  merely  an  instru- 
ment by  which  the  one  infinite  Ruler  accomplishes  his  purposes,  but 
was  apportioned  to  a  multitude  of  divinities  whose  domain  was 
limited  and  defined.  Natural  forces  were  personified,  and  these 
personifications  were  the  products  of  the  popular  fancy,  or  were  tra- 
ditions which  were  invested  with  no  supreme  authority.  It  has  been 
said  that  the  Greeks  idealized  nature.  In  comparison  with  the  low 
materialistic  tendencies  of  many  Oriental  peoples  this  claim  is  fairly 
just.  Certainly  their  religion  was  for  the  most  part  bright  and 
cheerful.  It  turned  toward  the  outward.  The  deep  subjective  ele- 
ment of  the  Hebrew  faith  was  feeble  in  both  the  heathen  Greek  and 
Roman.  While  the  earlier  Greek  religion  had  been  Externality  of 
characterized  by  freedom  of  thought,  and  the  Roman,  the  heathen 
on  the  contrary,  was  to  the  last  degree  prescribed,  these  ^^  ^'°°^' 
religions  nevertheless  agree  in  the  common  quality  of  externality. 
Paul's  masterlj^  summary  was  descriptive  of  all  pagan  systems  alike: 
"  They  worshipped  and  served  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator  " 
(Rom.  i,  25).  To  the  Greek  there  was  no  holy  God;  all  divinities 
were  alike  subject  to  the  weakness  of  change,  and  to  the  sway  of 


50  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

passion.  "Instead  of  holiness,  beauty  took  tlie  supreme  place.'" 
Loyalty  to  the  family  and  to  the  state  was  to  the  Roman  the  high- 
est ideal  of  piety.  To  represent  their  gods  in  beautiful  and  per- 
fected forms  seemed  appropriate  to  peoples  whose  conceptions  of 
deity  shifted  with  their  own  varying  history.  Hence  their  relation 
Results  of  to  the  formative  arts  must  have  been  widely  different 
these  differ-  ^^.^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  Hebrews.  While  to  the  Jew  the  divine 
ences    to    art  . 

culture.  worship  and  the  house  of  worship  must  be  only  sym- 

bolic of  the  mysterious  power  and  presence  of  Jehovah ;  while,  there- 
fore, proportions  and  outlines  need  not  be  subject  to  strict  law  or 
definition,  but  might  defy  the  principles  which  govei'n  mere  finite 
existence  ;  the  worship,  the  statues,  and  the  temj^les  of  the  Greeks 
had  a  clearness  and  a  distinctness  which  were  entirely  consonant 
with  the  nature  of  gods  who  were  merely  a  projection  of  finite 
thought  and  the  embodiment  of  what  was  best  and  highest  in 
humanity.  By  a  method  of  limitation  and  degradation  of  their  di- 
vinities to  an  image  or  statue,  the  Greeks  used  the  arts  of  form 
as  didactic  means  of  a  religious  education.  Thus,  as  minister  and 
illustrator  of  religion,  formative  art  among  the  Greeks  found  its 
richest  themes  and  its  highest  inspiration,  while  among  the  Hebrews 
its  isolation  from  religious  thought  and  religious  service  resulted  in 
an  imperfect  development  and  a  languishing  life. 

We  have  a  most  conspicuous  illustration  and  proof  of  this  Jewish 
indifference  to  the  arts  of  painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture  in  the 
person  of  St.  Paul.  Born  in  Tarsus,  the  seat  of  advanced  Greek 
St.  Paul  an  11-  culture,  where  objects  of  exquisite  taste  adorned  the 
lustration    of    markets   and   public   squares,   he   must    have   enjoyed 

Semitic   indif-  ^  ■         r  ij<i_c- 

ference  to  the  abundant  opportunity  tor  the  study  ot  the  formative 
fine  arts.  arts  of  the  period.    Yet,  in  the  account  of  his  mission- 

ary visit  to  Athens  is  found  no  single  expression  of  friendly 
interest  in  the  matchless  works  with  which  that  noted  city  still 
abounded,  not  one  intimation  of  aesthetic  pleasure  awakened  by 
their  study.'^     Rather  did  he  see  in  these  richest  and  grandest  pro- 

'  Uhlhorn  :    Conflict  of  Christianity  with  Heathenism.     Translation,  revised  edition 
1879.  P.  33. 
*  "  Any  sense  of  the  dignity  and  beauty  of  pagan  art  was   impossible  to  one  who 
had  been  trained  in  the  school  of  the  rabbis.     There  was  nothing  in 
arrar  s  s  a  e-     j^^^  education  (we  might  add,  in  his  people)  which  enabled  him  to  ad- 
mire the  simple  grandeur  of  the  Propylaea,  the  severe  beauty  of  the 
Parthenon,  the  massive  proportions  of  the  Theseum,  the  exquisite  elegance  of  the 
Temple  of  the  Wingless  Victory.     From  the  nude  grace  and  sinewy  strength  of  the 
youthful  processions   portrayed   on    frieze   or    entablature,  he  would  have  turned 
away  with  something  of  impatience,  if  not  of  disgust." — Farrar:  Life  of  St.  Paul. 
London,  1882.     Vol.  i,  p.  527. 


RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART.  51 

ducts  of  the  human  imagination  naught  but  the  plainest  proofs  of 
a  mournful  departure  from  the  one  true  God,  and  unmistakable  evi- 
dences of  the  degradation  and  helplessness  of  the  heathen  world. 

3.  While  the  Gospel  must  be  first  preached  at  Jerusalem,  and 
while  by  their  monotheistic  faith  and  Messianic  hopes  the  Jewish 
people  formed  the  proper  point  of  uniou  between  the  old  and  the 
new,  the  spirit  of  universalism  taught  by  Jesus  could  universaiism 
not  be  limited  by  the  prevalent  exclusiveness.  His  was  a  o^  the  Gospel. 
system  of  truth  and  salvation  for  the  race.  When  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas said,  "  Lo,  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles  "  (Acts  xiii,  46),  the  grandeur 
of  the  Gospel  mission  was  first  made  manifest.  Most  gladly  did  the 
poor  and  the  oppressed  of  heathendom  hear  the  proclamation  of 
deliverance  from  their  spii-itual  bondage. 

The  estimated  number  of  converts  to  Christianity  at  the  close  of 
the  first  century  is  500,000;  at  the  close  of  the  second  j;umber  and 
2,000,000;  at  the  close  of  the  third  7,000,000  to  10,000,-  character  of 
000.  Even  at  the  close  of  the  first  century,  probably  ^^o'^^'*'"^'*- 
the  majority  of  Christians  had  been  gathered  from  heathen  peoples. 
The  Gentile  element  rapidly  increased.  By  the  middle  of  the  second 
century  Jewish  influence  and  tendencies  had  well-nigh  disappeared. 
After  the  second  century,  with  the  exception  of  some  isolated  com- 
munities, the  Church  consisted  essentially  of  converts  who  must 
have  been  thoroughly  familiar  with  pagan  art.' 

It  is  impossible  to  believe  that  families  of  high  station,  that  had 
been  entirely  favorable  to  the  patronage  of  the  fine  arts,  could,  on 
embracing  Christianity,  immediately  change  their  tastes  and  practice, 
especially  since  nothing  inimical  to  the  cultivation  of  art  is  found 
in  the  teachings  of  Christ  or  in  the  Avritings  of  his  apostles. 

Every  chief  city  in  the  Roman  Empire  had  become  a  museum  into 
which  had  been  gathered  the  treasures  which  the  Greeks  powerful  art 
had  produced  during  a  long  period  of  art  activity  and  influences. 
origination.  Temples,  altars,  shrines;  vale,  grove,  and  mountain; 
public  squares,  market-places,  the  halls  of  justice,  private  houses — 
contained  objects  which  familiarized  the  looker-on  with  the  thought 
that  the  divine  may  be  represented  in  visible  form.  The  pagan 
moralists  regarded  these  images  as  most  helpful  means  of  instruc- 
tion, and  a  most  healthful  stimulus  of  the  faith  of  the  worshipper. 
Like  the  Christian  ai:)ologists  for  images  in  a  later  Art  works  rc- 
century,  the  priests  of  paganism  taught  that  the  people  ^y'the  heathen 
could  thus  be  brought  near  the  person  of  the  divinity,  moralists. 
WTiile  some  of  the  more  thoughtful,  as  Seneca,  rejected  this  view, 

'  (-.  Harnack:  Dogmeiir/oichhhte.  Hilgonfcld  :  Judeuthnm  midJaJeuchridenthum. 
Leipzig,  1886. 


52  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

the  majority  taught  that  the  gods  were  truly  present  in  the  images. 
The  untutored  multitude  believed  that  their  deities  had  as  many  differ- 
ent personalities  as  there  were  representations.  Herein  the  faith 
of  the  adherents  to  the  old  religions  was  strikingly  like  that  of  the 
Christians  during  the  most  flourishing  periods  of  image  worship.' 

Thus  had  art  been  made  the  illustrator  and  teacher  of  religion. 
They  had  become  so  closely  joined  that  the  protests  of  some  of  the 
Christian  fathers  against  its  practice  and  encouragement  sounded 
Causes  of  Christ-  t^^-^'sh  and  discordant  to  the  pagan  moralists.  But  the 
Ian  art  encour-  accessions  to  the  Church  of  families  of  wealth  and  high 
social  position,  the  cessation  of  the  fierce  struggle  of 
heathendom  for  re-establishment,  and  the  removal  of  the  dangers  that 
threatened  the  lapse  of  Christianity  into  heathen  idolatry,  furnished 
new  conditions  for  the  cultivation  and  patronage  of  the  fine  arts. 
The  inherent  love  of  the  beautiful  found  means  of  rational  gratifica- 
tion; the  new  religion  breathed  into  the  old  forms  a  quickening  spirit, 
and  originated  a  treatment  peculiarly  Christian.  The  decadence 
everywhei'e  observed  in  the  pagan  world  from  the  blight  of  faith 
was  measurably  arrested  by  the  vital  union  of  the  true  and  the  beau- 
tiful in  Christianity.  The  changed  relations  of  the  Christian  to  the 
Jewish  Church,  the  juster  view  of  the  nature  of  God  and  his  gov- 
ernment of  the  material  universe,  and  the  recognition  of  Christianity 
as  an  important  factor  in  the  civilization  of  the  empire,  favored  the 
alliance  of  the  Church  with  art,  which  thus  received  a  truer 
inspiration.^ 

Some,  however,  who  had  been  converted  from  the  pagan  system 
Early  opposi-  were,  at  first,  scarcely  less  pronounced  against  the  use  of 
tion  to  the  arts  ^rt  f  ornis  in  the  places  of  worship  than  the  Jewish  Christ- 
Christian  ser-  ians  themselves.'  This  seeming  hostility  of  a  few  of  the 
vices.  Christian  fathers  was  chiefly  occasioned  hj  the  corrupt- 

ing associations  of  the  prevalent  art.  As  before  remarked,  the  Christ- 
ian and  pagan  views  of  the  divine  nature  and  government  were  in 
directest  contradiction.     The  one  believed  that  each  stream,  wood^ 

'  Friedlander :  Darstell-ang  aus  der  Sittengescldchte  Roms,  Bd.  iii,  s.  565,  et  al. 

This  author  compares  the  heathen  behef  in  the  diversity  of  the  nature  of  the  gods 
with  that  of  the  Neapolitans  respecting  the  Madonna  and  her  various  art  representa- 
tions, 

^  "  Christianity  on!}''  discouraged  art  so  long  as  art  was  the  liandmaid  of  sin ;  the 
moment  this  danger  ceased,  she  inspired  and  ennobled  art." — Farrar,  Life  of  St.  Paul, 
chap,  xxvii. 

"  Christianity  by  exalting  moral  above  physical  beauty,  the  soul  above  the  body, 
encouraged  the  development  of  ardent  and  passionate  men  of  genius  " — E.  Miintz: 
Leu  Artkten  celebres.     Doiiatello.     Also  Sehultze :  Arch,  der  altchristlichen  Ktmst. 

^  Piper:   Mythologie  der  christlichen  Kunxt.     Weimar,  1847.     Bd.  i,  s.  2. 


RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART.  53 

and  mountain  was  governed  by  a  separate  divinity,  and  that  every 
act  and  event  of  human  experience  from  birth  to  death  was  under 
the  direction  of  some  special  deity;  the  other  regarded  the  universe 
as  the  work  of  the  one  true  God,  and  this  world  as  the  theatre  for 
the  display  of  the  divine  mercy  and  glory,  and  for  the  manifestation 
of  behavior  under  the  divine  government/  Through  the  uni- 
versal decadence  of  belief  and  the  corresponding  corruption  of 
morals,  that  which  had  originally  been  inspired  by  strong  faith  irt 
the  supernatural  had  become  the  minister  to  the  most  degrading 
rites  and  ceremonies.  Hence,  some  of  these  works  of  art  were 
at  first  doubly  repulsive  to  the  heathen  converts  themselves.  It 
was  originally  a  war  against  images  ;  subsequently  it  extended 
itself  by  a  law  of  association  to  all  decorative  and  art  Extent  of  this 
forms  connected  with  the  heathen  worship.  At  first  opposition. 
even  objects  in  free  statuary  and  paintings  used  to  beautify  private 
houses  and  household  furniture  were  forbidden.  The  artist  whose 
skill  was  employed  in  the  production  of  these  works  was  placed 
under  the  ban  of  the  Church.  On  assuming  church  membership 
he  was,  at  times,  compelled  to  abandon  his  craft.  The  Ajyostolic 
Constitutions  are  very  positive  in  their  teachings  on  this  point.  A 
maker  of  images  of  the  gods  who  shall  have  become  a  Christian  must 
either  abandon  his  business  or  be  excommunicated. ^  Some  influen- 
tial Christian  fathers  were  most  outspoken.  So  late  as  the  beginning 
of  the  third  century  Tertullian  argued  the  case  with  great  vehe- 
mence. He  urges  that  while  the  Christian  artificer  xertuiiian's 
did  not  himself  worship  these  images,  he  was  placing  teaching. 
in  the  hands  of  others  objects  which  might  be  most  misleading.  One 
cannot  consistently  confess  the  one  true  God  with  the  mouth,  and 
yet  preach  polytheism  with  the  hand.  While  Christian  artisans 
themselves  may  not  offer  incense  to  these  images  of  the  gods,  they  are, 
nevertheless,  putting  into  their  work  their  powers  of  mind  and  soul, 
and  are  thus  consenting  to  derive  their  own  comfort  and  support  from 
a  soul-destroying  idolatry.'      Clement  of  Alexandria  was  of  like 

'  "If  the  pagan  religions  had  explained  the  government  of  the  universe  by  the 
government  of  man,  thus  multiplying  tlie  realms  of  law,  each  under  a  distinct  law- 
giver, the  Christian  had  achieved  that  highest  possible  generalization,  sublime  in  its 
simplicity,  of  a  single  realm  and  one  universal  divine  government."— Holland  :  Juris- 
prudence, p.  14. 

'  Apostolic  Constitutions,  viii,  c.  32:  '-Idolorum  opifex  si  accedat,  aut  desistat  aut- 
repellatur." 

*  De  Idolatria,  c.  6:  "  Quomodo  enim  renuntiavimus  diabolo  et  angelis  ejus,  si  eos 
facimus?  .  .  .  Potes  lingua  ncgasse,  quod  manu  coufiteris?  verbo  destruere,  quod 
facto  struis?  unum  Deum  prtedicare,  qui  tantos  efficis?  verum  Deum  prtedicare,  qui 
falsos  fncis?  " 


54  ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

mind.'  But  the  use  of  such  facts  to  prove  the  hostility  of  these  fathers 
to  art  jyer  se,  and  the  indifference  of  the  early  Church  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  fine  arts,  is  manifestly  misleading.  Such  conclusions 
are  denied  by  the  evidence  of  the  senses.^ 

The  adornment  of  dress,  and  the  decoration  of  furniture,  utensils, 
and  wall-spaces  in  the  private  house,  have  generally  been  the  earliest 
product  of  the  aesthetic  faculty.  So  probably  with  the  art  of  the 
early  Christians.^  It  was  so  far  removed  from  the  associations 
Earliest  en-  of  heathen  worship  as  to  awaken  little  opposition.  This 
ordeoHative  view  finds  confirmation  in  the  writings  of  the  early 
art.  Christian  fathers.     The  next  step  seems  to  have  been 

the  decoration  of  tombs  and  the  wall-spaces  of  crypts  in  the  cata- 
combs, which  often  served  the  double  purpose  of  sepulture  and  of 
a  place  of  assembly  for  the  celebration  of  the  sacraments.  Hence 
the  archreoloffist  must  betake  himself  to  the  careful  studv  of  these 
burial  monuments  to  gain  the  truest  conception  of  the  nature  and 
mission  of  early  Christian  art.'' 

Unquestionably,  the  Christian  Church  accepted  and  appropriated 
Originality  of  to  its  own  USB  many  of  the  art  forms  that  were  at 
early  Christian  hand.  To  create  an  absolutely  new  school  was,  under 
^^^-  the  circumstances,  impossible.      The  earliest   Christian 

painting  and  sculpture  follow  the  heathen  type  ;  no  wide  departure 
is  anywhere  observable.     The  originality  of  the  Christian  artists 

'  Among  other  passages  v.  Pcedagogm,  lib.  iii. 

2  An  interesting  parallel  may  be  drawn  between  the  teachings  of  the  Ciiristian 
fathers  of  the  second  and  third  centuries  and  those  of  some  of  the  great  reformers 
of  the  sixteenth.  The  early  apologists  clearly  discerned  the  threat  to  the  purity  of 
Christian  life  and  doctrine  coming  from  the  indiscriminate  use  of  heathen  art ; 
Luther,  Zwinglius,  Beza,  and  Calvin  would  exclude  images  from  churclies,  not 
because  they  did  not  love  art,  but  because  these  objects  were  misleading  the  simple 
worshippers,  v.  Griineisen:  De  Protestantismo  artibus  hand  infesto.  Tubinga3,  1839. 
Also  an  essay,  Catholicism  and  Protestantism  as  Patrons  of  Christian  Art,  in  the 
Methodist  Quarterly  Review,  January,  1877. 

3  What  modification  of  opinion  might  be  necessary  were  the  countless  objects 
that  have  been  lost  to  be  recovered,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  The  materials  are 
often  very  meagre,  and  sometimes  the  archseologist  must  be  guided  by  analogical 
evidence. 

•*  "  Probably  religious  representations  were  transferred  from  private  houses  to 
churches  at  the  end  of  the  third  century,  for  the  Church  of  Elvira,  A.  D.  305,  protested 
against  this  use  of  images  in  the  churches." — Neander:  Church  Hist.,  Torrey's  trans., 
vol.  ii,  p.  508.  This  opinion  of  Neander  needs  very  important  qualification.  It  seems 
to  be  founded  upon  documentary  rather  than  upon  monumental  evidence.  "With  the 
latter  he  interested  himself  very  slightly.  Indeed,  nearly  every  great  work  on  church 
history  in  this  century — for  example,  Neander,  Giessler,  Niedner,  Baur,  Kurtz,  etc. — 
is  strangely  silent  on  the  monuments.  Schaff,  in  his  last  edition,  forms  a  striking 
and  pleasant  exception. 


RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART.  55 

consisted  essentially  in  pressing  into  the  service  of  the  new  faith 

what  before  had  ministered  to  the  religions  of  paganism,     A  new 

spirit  Avas  infused  into  the  old  body,  not  immediately  to  modify 

and    transform   it,    but   to    teach    new    and   saving    truths.      The 

early  employment  of  symbolism  indicates  the  chariness   „       ,,    , . 

^ ,         1    .       ,  „„  Symbolism 

of  the  Church  m  the  use  of  free  statuary  and  painting,   among    the 

The  authority  of  Scripture  was  invoked.     The  Fathers  rr^'c'hrS 

assumed    that     to     represent    to    the    eye    what    the  art. 

Scriptures    teach    by    word-symbol    was    not    idolatrous.      Jesus 

spoke  of  himself  and  of  his  saving  offices  under  the  Symbol  of  a 

vine  ;  he  called  himself  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  his  followers   the 

sheep.     The  finally  saved  were  the  sheep  placed  on  his  right  hand 

in  paradise  ;  the  finally  impenitent  were  the  goats  which  were  to  be 

banished  from  his  jiresence  forever.     Thus  the  cycle  of  Christian 

sj'mbolism  which  became  so  effective  in  teaching  was  greatly  en^ 

larged,  and  aided  to  introduce  the  arts  of  form  into  the  service  of 

the  Church, 

It  is,  therefore,  scarcely  philosophical  or  in  accord  with  historic 
facts  to  attribute  the  symbolic  character  of  the  pre-Constantine  art 
to  merely  outward  circumstances,  as  fear  of  persecution,  or  an  aversion 
to  exposing  to  profane  eyes  the  mysteries  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  transition  from  the  symbolic  to  the  literal  representation  was 
rather  in  obedience  to  a  fundamental  law  of  art  devel-  Transition 
opment.  The  deep  spiritual  life  of  the  Church  must  [^"^te'rarre^i! 
precede  the  outward  expression.  The  decadence  of  resentation. 
religious  sentiment  in  the  pagan  world  had  caused  a  like  deca- 
dence in  all  forms  of  representative  art,  whether  poetry,  music, 
painting,  sculpture,  or  architecture.  The  higher  spiritual  life  of 
the  Christian  Church  must  supply  the  necessary  conditions  of  a 
completer  art  which  would  be  developed  whenever  the  outward 
circumstances  might  favor,' 

The  history  of  the  first  three  centuries  clearly  shows  that  just  as 
the  heathen  philosophical  thought  was  used  by  the  Church  fathers 
to  give  concise  expression  to  Christian  doctrine,  and  The  church 
the  Roman  state  furnished  the  type  for  an  ecclesiastical  ^^^jfaT^was  at 
hierarchy,  just  so  wei'e  the  forms  of  pagan  art  and  its  hand, 
principles  of  expression  pressed  into  the  service  of  the  triumphant 
religion,*     This   appropriation   went   so   far   as   frqeuently  to   use 

■  Piper :  Mythologie  de?  ch.  Kuiist,  Bd.  i,  ss.  5,  6. 

^  A  similar  contribution  of  heathen  thought  is  seen  in  the  Roman  guilds. 

"  The  constitution  of  these  guilds,  and  the  kind  of  life  developed  witliin  them, 
have  been  of  the  greatest  importance  in  the  history  of  Clirisiian  charity  and  its  de- 
velopment.    Certainly  it  was  the  case  that  these  guilds  laid  down  the  recognised 


56  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

heathen  symbols  for  Christian  jjurposes.  Contining  himself  at  first 
to  the  simple  but  significant  symbolism  of  the  biblical  cycle,  the 
artist  afterward  employed  any  heathen  emblem  which  had  conveyed 
an  analogous  truth.  It  must  be  supposed  that  this  practice  in  some 
form  was  quite  general  in  the  Christian  Church.  But  the  remains 
of  this  earliest  art  industry  are  limited  to  a  very  few  centres.  Only 
in  Rome  is  the  cycle  at  all  complete.  These  Christian  symbols 
are  often  found  associated  with  burial  monuments.  So  long  as 
places  of  sej)ulture  were  under  the  special  protection  of  law  we  may 
suppose  that  there  was  no  necessit}^  for  concealment.  The  chapels 
erected  over  the  graves  of  Christians  eminent  for  piety  or  for  the 
services  they  had  rendered  were  adorned  with  works  which  have 
unfortunately  almost  entirely  disappeared.  But  when,  by  the  edict 
Decoration  of  ^^  Valerian  (A.  D.  257),  assemblies  in  these  burial 
burial  monu-  chapels  were  prohibited,  and  fierce  persecutions  were 
^^^  ^'  practised,   the    Christians    were    compelled    to    betake 

themselves  to  places  of  concealment  for  worship  and  for  the  cele- 
bration of  the  sacraments.  Thus  originated  some  of  the  most  inter- 
esting portions  of  the  catacombs  which  have  been  so  rich  a  mine  for 
the  Christian  archaeologist.  The  preservation  of  these  treasuries  of 
Christian  art  seems  almost  providential.  They  remain  as  samples 
of  the  work  of  the  artists  of  the  early  Christian  centuries. 

What  added  helj^s  might  have  been  furnished  for  the  elucidation 
of  Christian  art  in  the  first  six  centuries,  had  not  the  works  out- 
side the  catacombs  so  generally  perished,  can  only  be  conjectured. 
The  catacombs  are  for  the  study  of  Christian  art  what  the  dis- 
coveries at  Pompeii  are  for  heathen ;  they  furnish  invaluable 
information  relative  to  the  art  susceptibilities  and  spirit  of  their 
time.  The  Roman  catacombs  furnish  the  only  examples  of  Christ- 
ian paintings  of  an  earlier  date  than  near  the  close  of  the  fourtli 
century. 

Of  the  nearly  sixty  catacombs  which  have  been  already  exca- 
The  Roman  vated,  those  of  SS.  Calisto,  Priscilla,  Domitilla,  Proetes- 
catacombs.  tato,  Sebastiauo,  and  Agnese  are  richest.  Their  narrow 
and  often  winding  passages  are  skirted  on  either  side  by  rows 
of  loculi  or  recesses  for  receiving  the  dead.  On  the  faces  of  slabs 
of  stone  which  close  the  loculi  was  sculptured,  sometimes  painted, 
sometimes  scratched  in  the  soft  mortar,  a  symbol  or  epitaph 
to  reveal  the  belief  of  the  departed,  or  to  indicate  the  triumph  of 
Christian  faith.     At  the  place  of  intersection  these  passages  were 

forms  in  accordance  with  wliioh,  wlien  once  the  power  of  true  love  began  to  stir  the 
Christian  communities,  their  charity  was  to  be  exercised." — Uhlhorn:  Christian 
Charity  in  the  Ancient  Church,  p.  27.     New  York:  1883. 


RELATIONS  OP  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART. 


57 


frequently  widened,  and  their  height  increased  to  form  chambers 

which  were  sometimes  the  burial  place  of  martyrs  of  peculiar  sanctity. 

Upon  the   wall-spaces  and  ceilings  are  found  the  paintings  which 

most   clearly  reveal   the   artistic  taste   of   the  Christians  prior  to 

the  fourth  century.     In  the  oldest  catacombs  is  noticed  ^ 

•^  .  Decorative  art 

a  tendency  to  use  the  arts  of  mere  decoration.  In  in  the  cata- 
spirit  and  execution  the  paintings  quite  closely  re-  ^°"'^^- 
semble  those  found  on  heathen  monuments  of  the  same  age.  The 
motive  is  not  essentially  different.  Birds,  flowers,  genii,  etc.,  are 
represented  in  the  most  easy  and  natural  style  of  drawing,  and  in  a 
spirit  worthy  of  the  best  periods  of  pagan  art. 

Some  of  the  vaulted  ceilings  of  the  cemetery  of  Santa  Domitilla  at 


Fig.  1.— Ceiling  decoration  from  Santa  Domitilla,  Rome.    Probably  from  second  century. 

Rome  are  believed  to  belong  to  the  first  half  of  the  second  cen- 
tury.   On  one  portion  of   this  ceiling-surface  (Fig.  1)   the  vine  is 


58 


ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


treated  in  the  most  unconventional  manner,  with  leaves,  fruit,  and 
the  genii  of  the  vineyard.  There  seems  to  be  no  attempt  at  geomet- 
rical handling,  but  a  spirit  of  naturalism  inspires  the  whole  work.' 

A  little  later  in  the  century  the  principle  of  geometrical  division 
and  balancing  seems  to  supplant  in  a  measure  this  free  handling.  A 
very  striking  example  is  met  in  the  vaulted  ceiling  of  the  cemet'cry 
of  San  Prffitestato,  in  Home  (Fig.  2).    In  the  lower  section  a  reap- 


Fig.  2.— Ceiling  decoration  from  San  Pr^etestato,  Rome.  Last  half  of  the  second  century, 
ing  scene  is  depicted  in  a  style  equal  to  the  best  contemporary  pagan 
art.  Above  is  a  beautiful  and  very  lifelike  sketch  of  vine  and  leaf  work 
in  the  midst  of  which  birds  are  sporting,  while  above  all  the  laurel 
branch  seems  to  be  introduced.  On  the  other  sides  of  this  room  in 
the  lower  zone  are  childi*en  who  are  picking  roses,  a  vintage  scene, 
in  which  the  gathering,  carrying,  and  treading  of  the  grapes  are  most 
vigorously  represented,  and  men  who  are  harvesting  olives.  The 
whole  artistic  design  seems  to  be  merely  decorative.*  A  class  of 
writers  would  see  in  all  these  a  symbolic  teaching,  but  this  is  man- 
ifestly pushing  the  principle  of  symbolism  to  an  unwarranted 
extreme. 

'  Roller:    Catacombs  de  Eome,  PI.  xii,  No.  3.  Kraus :    Roma  Sotterranea,  ss.  77,  78. 
^  V.  Roller:    Catncombs  de  Bovie,  t.  i,  chap.  xiv.     Nortlicote  &  Brownlow:  Ecmia 
Sotterranea,  vol.  i,  p.  138.     Kraus:  Eoma  Sotterranea,  s.  83. 


RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART.  59 

In  the  midst  of  other  figures  occasionally  appear  what  must  be 
regarded  as  distinctively  Christian  symbols.  These  depart  so  widely 
from  the  prevalent  teaching  as  to  suggest  a  different  oi'igin  and  in- 
spiration. •  This  commingling  of  subjects  and  motives  was  a  most 
natural,  and  we  may  say  necessary,  result  of  the  situation.  The 
l)eautiful  spirit  of  purity,  gentleness,  brotherly  kindness,  fidelity  to 
urinciple,  the  quietness  and  love  of  the  family  life,  and  the  firm  at- 
tachment to  the  society  of  the  believers,  as  expressed  in  the  cele- 
bration of  the  love-feasts  and  eucharist,  could  continue  only  so  long 
as  Christianity  held  itself  aloof  from  the  life  and  duties  of  the 
state.  So  soon,  however,  as  its  adherents  went  from  obscurity 
to  mingle  in  public  affairs,  they  necessarily  encountered  the  power 
and  resistance  of  heathen  customs  and  laws.  Christian  doctrine 
could  no  longer  remain  untouched  by  heathen  philos-  commingling 
ophj^  nor  its  life  be  uninfluenced  by  the  prevailing  cur^^j^^Q  gj"^ 
fashions.  No  less  could  its  art  be  developed  apart  from  ments. 
pagan  motives.  Hence  the  commingling  of  pagan  and  Christian 
elements  in  some  of  the  best  examples  of  Christian  art  during  the 
fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  centuries.  Nevertheless,  in  the  strange  and 
almost  unparalleled  syncretism  of  nationalities,  beliefs,  philosophies, 
rites,  and  ceremonies  then  prevalent  in  Rome,  it  is  noteworthy 
to  how  slight  a  degree  the  earlier  Christian  art  was  influenced. 
Only  by  comparison  of  the  subjects,  the  symbols,  and  the  execution 
of  the  art  of  the  catacombs  with  contemporary  works  of  Rome 
can  a  just  conception  of  the  restraining  and  modifying  power  of 
Christianity  be  gained.'  That  early  Christian  art  should  be 
of  the  highest  order  of  excellence  is  not  to  be  antici-  yet  Christian 
pated.     Christianity  made    its  advent  at  a  time  when   ^  ^  *   retained 

^  .  ..  .  an  exceptional 

art  was  in  a  condition  of  decadence  which  marked  all   purity. 

its   forms,    poetry,    music,    painting,    sculpture,    and    architecture. 

'  "  The  artist  Las  long  cherished  a  secret  grudge  against  moraUty.  The  prudery 
of  virtue  is  his  great  hinderance.  He  believes  that  it  is  our  morality  that  prevents 
us  (rem  rivalling  the  arts  of  ancient  Greece.  He  finds  that  the  individual  artist 
seems  corrupted  and  spoiled  for  his  business  if  he  allows  morality  to  get  too  much 
control  of  him.  The  great  masters  he  notices  show  a  certain  indifference,  a  certain 
superiority,  to  it ;  often  they  audaciously  defy  it.  The  virtuous  artists  are  mostly 
to  be  looked  for  in  the  second  class,  into  which,  moreover,  it  is  doubtful  whether 
tliey  have  not  been  admitted  by  favor.  Hence  he  becomes  most  seriously  and  un- 
affectedly skeptical  about  the  unapproachable  sovereignty  of  the  law  of  Duty." 
Supernatural  Religion,  vol.  i,  p.  120.  Does  the  learned  author  forget  that  Greek  art 
perished  with  its  dying  religiousness?  Poetry  decays  in  the  period  of  a  decadence 
of  faith.  Christianity  used  the  Greek  to  produce  a  better  art,  for  example,  music, 
aud  originated  some  of  tlie  grandest  and  most  imposing  forms,  for  example,  Gothic 
architecture. 
G 


60  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

Hence  it  must  be  erroneous  to  regard  Christian  art  as   either   a 

sudden  leap  into  a  better  and  purer  form,  or  a  sudden  decline  from 

classic  excellence.     Rather  must   it  be  regarded  as  a  progressive 

development. ' 

The  mythology  of  the  ancient  world  influenced  Christian  art  as 

Themytboiog-  ^yell   as  Christian   literature  and  doctrine.     It  is  found 

ic  element  in      .^,  ,  .         .  .  i  i        • 

early  Christian   either    as    an  historic    representation,    thus    having    a 

art.  typical     or    religious    significance,    or     it    introduced 

powers  of  nature  under  a  symbolic  form,  and  then  had  a  purely 
Three  condi-  artistic  purpose.^  Sometimes  these  were  united.  As  an 
*''^°^"  instance   of   the   latter   may  be    mentioned    the   ivory 

tablet  from  the  fourth  century,  known  as  the  Barberini  Diptych. 
It  was  probably  prepared  in  A.D.  357,  to  perpetuate  the  triumph  of 
Barberini  Constantiiie.  In  the  upper  part  of  this  tablet  is  a  bust 
Diptych.  of  Christ,  in  the  act  of  benediction,  while  on  the  other 

parts  are  various  mythological  representations.  A  like  commingling 
of  motives  is  seen  on  the  noted  sarcophagus  of  Junius  Bassus 
(Plates  II  and  IP),  Prsefect  of  Rome,  who  died  soon  after  his  baptism, 
Sarcophagus  of  ^^  A.  D.  359.  The  main  panels  are  occupied  with  de- 
junius  Bassus.  lineations  of  characters  and  events  from  both  the  Old 
and  the  New  Testaments — the  translation  of  Elijah,  the  offering  of 
Isaac,  the  Hebrew  children  in  the  fiery  furnace,  and  scenes  from 
the  life  of  Christ.  But  in  the  angles  and  niches  are  found  heathen 
mythological  representations  which  seem  to  have  very  little  connection 
with  the  main  subjects,  and  must,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  having 
been  introduced  more  for  artistic  effect  than  for  religious  teaching. 
Greek  manu-  Of  like  character  is  the  noted  Greek  manuscript  of  the 
script.  book  of  Joshua,  now  in  the  Vatican  Museum.     It  con- 

sists of  fifteen  sheets  of  parchment,  nearly  thirty  feet  long  and  about 
one  foot  wide,  on  which  the  chief  events  of  the  first  ten  chapters  of 
Joshua  are  represented.  Opinions  differ  as  to  the  age  of  this  parch- 
ment; yet  it  seems  hardly  possible  that  it  can  be  later  than  the  eighth 
century,  while  some  of  the  most  competent  critics^  regard  it  as 
among  the  very  earliest  of  Christian  monuments.  In  the  person- 
ification of  rivers,  cities,  mountains,  etc.,  the  ornamentation  of  this 
parchment  is  in  the  peculiar  spirit  of  pagan  art. 

The  influence  of  heathen  symbols  and  thought  is  apparent  on  the , 

'  Piper:  Mythologie  der  ch.  Kunst,  Bd.  i,  s.  1. 

2  Piper :   Op.  cit,  Bd.  i,  s.  18. 

^  V.  Rumohr :    Italienische  Forschungen,  Th.  i,   p.    166.    v.    d'Agincourt:    Platcsl 
xxviii,  xxix,  xxx.     D'Agincourt  places  it  in  tlie  seventh  or  eighth  century.     In  this, 
as  in  other  monuments,  restorations  of  a  later  date  are  suspected.     This  is  one] 
reason  of  the  diversity  of  opinion  respecting  its  age. 


RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART.  61 

coins  of  the  Roman  emperors  who  embraced  Christianity.  The  coins 
prepared  by  Constantine  in  commemoration  of  his  victory  Roman  impe- 
over  Licinius  contain  the  Labarum,  which,  with  the  "a^i  coins, 
monogram  of  Christ,  rests  upon  a  dragon.  The  cities  of  Constan- 
tinople and  Rome  are  represented  under  the  symbol  of  the  goddess 
of  Fortune,  and  the  statues  of  the  Christian  emperors  are  sometimes 
associated  with  the  goddess  of  Victory. 

Not  less  noteworthy  is  the  commingling  of  Christian  and  pagan 
thought  and  motive  in  the  case  of  private  Christian  burial  monu- 
ments. Genii  of  the  seasons,  Cupid  and  Psyche,  as  well  as  genii  of 
a  festive  nature,  are  here  found  to  typify  the  joy  and  fruition  of  the 
departed.' 

Closely  connected  with  these  are  representations  in  which  myth- 
ological subjects  are  used  as  types  of  biblical  persons 
and  events.  If  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil  is  associated  with  the  serpent  in  like  manner  as,  in  the 
heathen  myth,  the  Garden  of  the  Hesperides  is  guarded  by  the 
dragon,orif  the  translation  of  Elijah  suggests  the  ascending  sun  god, 
this  resemblance  is  merely  outward.  Yet  it  may  be  very  easy  to 
transfer  the  one  to  the  other,  and  thus  commingle  pagan  and 
Christian  ideas.*  So,  likewise,  may  the  ram-bearing  Mercury  be 
mistaken  for  a  figure  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  because  of  a  seeming 
lik  mess,  while  all  parallelisms  in  office  or  nature  may  be  wanting 
(v.  Figs.  48,  49). 

Careful  distinction  must  be  made  l^etween  monuments  which  con- 
tain representations  closely  resembling  each  other  in  mere  outward 
form  while  there  is  no  likeness  in  thought,  from  those  Difference  be- 
which  agree  in  motive,  and  hence  may  have  been  trans-  tween  outward 
ferred  from  pagan  associations  to  be  used  in  Christian  ^^^  ^.^^^  ji,^g. 
instruction.  It  is  likewise  important  to  discriminate  nessof 
between  heathen  inscriptions  and  symbols  on  monuments 
in  situ  from  those  that  may  be  found  on  the  walls  of  churches,  on 
slabs  which  close  the  locttli  in  the  catacombs,  or  on  Heatnen  mate- 
marbles  afterward  used  in  the  construction  of  church   "ais  in  christ- 

j..  p      ^  1^-  y-^i     ■     •  T      •      ^^^  structures. 

lurnitui-e  or  oi   the  tombs  of  emment  Christians.     It  is 
well  known  that  in  many  instances  the  materials  used   in  Christian 
structures  were  gathered  from  the  ruins  of  ancient  pagan  temples 
and  shrines.^     Hence,  by  failure  to  erase  the  symbol  or  inscription, 

'  Respecting  the  reference  of  these  figures  to  the  category  of  symbol  or  orna- 
mentation there  is  wide  difference  of  opinion  among  the  archjeologists. 

*  V.  Piper:    Op.  cit,  Bd.  i,  s.  39. 

^  This  same  comminghiig  of  diverse  materials  is  noticed  in  buildings  of  the  Middle 
Ages.    Among  many  examples  in  the  North  may  be  mentioned  the  walls  of  the  close 


62  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

there  seems  at  times  an  incoherent  commingling  of  pagan  and 
Christian  elements. 

Millin'  has  given  an  account  of  a  beautiful  sarcophagus  of  Fla- 
vins Memorius,  who  lived  under  Maximian  or  Constantine.  It  was 
discovered  at  Aries,  and  is  now  in  the  museum  of  Marseilles.  In 
this  the  appropriation  of  heathen  art  work  to  a  Christian  burial 
monument  is  evident.  The  work  is  of  pagan  origin;  moreover, 
its  high  order  of  artistic  excellence  points  to  a  very  early  date; 
yet  the  inscription,  which  was  manifestly  an  after  thought,  is 
Christian  in  sentiment.  Also  Platner^  has  described  a  sarcoph- 
agus in  the  cloister  of  Santa  Agnese  in  Rome.  On  either  end 
is  the  favorite  representation  of  Cupid  and  Psyche  ;  below,  the 
Heathen  sub-  ocean  is  symbolized  by  the  reed  and  the  water  urn,  and 
jects  on  Chris-  ^^^^  ^^^^^  .  ^^^  ^^^.^  ^^  plenty.  Above,  in  the  middle 
tianmonu-  «'  _  .. 

ments.  of  the  monument,  is  a  bust  in  relief  held  by  two  cupids. 

This  bust  likeness  is  clearly  a  Christian  work  of  later  origin,  and 

represents   St.    Agnes,  whose   remains   this   sarcophagus    formerly 

preserved. 

This  curious  commingling  of  elements  is  also  noticed  in  early 

.     .         Christian  churches.     Sometimes  the  columns  separating: 
Likewise  in  .  .  . 

Christian  the  main  from  the  side  naves  are  of  different  orders  of 

Churches.  architecture,  of  different  diameters,  and  sometimes  of 
different  materials.  Gathered  from  the  decaying  or  forsaken 
heathen  temples,  these  were  incorporated  into  Christian  edifices 
either  on  account  of  the  poverty  of  the  Church,  or  to  indicate  her 
gi'eater  triumph.  The  churches  San  Niccolo  in  Carcere,  Santa 
Maria  in  Trastevere,  and  Santa  Maria  in  Cosmedin,  at  Rome,  are 
instructive  examples  of  this  practice.  Santa  Maria  in  Trastevere,  a 
three-naved  church,  has  twenty-two  granite  columns  of  different 
heights  and  diameters,  on  whose  capitals  can  still  be  seen  sculptures 
of  Jupiter,  Juno,  and  other  heathen  deities.  Santa  Maria  Cosmedin 
occupied  the  site  of  a  temple  which  stood  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Circus  Maximus.  Built  into  the  walls  are  still  preserved  eight 
beautifully  fluted  columns  of  the  Roman  style,  whose  capitals  can 
be  seen  in  the  loft  above  the  vestibule.  Eighteen  columns  Oi  very 
ancient  origin  support  the  middle  nave  in  the  interior.^ 

of  Salisbury  Cathedral,  England,  which  contain  many  sculptured  stones  taken  from 
other  structures.  Also  in  filling  in  window  and  door  passages  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Winchester  a  like  practice  is  noticed. 

1  Voyage  dans  le  midi  de  la  France,  t.  iii,  pp.  151-156;  PL  Ivi,  fignres,  2.  3.  4. 
quoted  by  Piper,  Op.  cit,  i,  s.  45. 

2  Beshcreihung  Boms,  iii,  2,  s.  450.     Piper :  Op.  cit.,  i,  47- 
^Forster:  Mitiel-u.  Unteritalien,  ss.  264-73. 


RELATIOJ^S  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART.  63 

A  like  syncretism  of  pagan  and  Christian  subjects  is  found  on 
gems,  and  church  furniture,  as  chairs,  ambos,  baptismal  fonts, 
etc' 

It  was  one  purpose  of  the  early  apologists  to  trace  the  relations 
of  the  pagan  religion  to  the  Christian  along  the  line  prophecies  and 
of  prophecies  and  preparation.  In  their  controvei'sies  preparation, 
with  heathen  opponents  they  repeatedly  insisted  that  many  of  the 
elements  of  the  popular  mythology  were  only  echoes  of  an  original 
revelation  ;  that  the  beautiful  myths  to  which  the  people  clung  so 
fondly  were  perversions  of  an  earlier  truth;  that  these  often  pointed 
to  the  time  of  deliverance  which  had  now  been  consummated  by 
their  Lord  Christ.  It  might  not  be  unreasonable  to  expect  that 
these  agreements  in  motive  might  give  rise  to  similar  art  repre- 
sentations. While  some  modern  interpreters  profess  to  see  evi- 
dences of  mythological  import  in  works  of  Christian  art  where 
such  likeness  is  very  feeble,'  there  are,  nevertheless,  many  monu- 
ments in  which  such  parallelisms  of  use,  or  relation,  or  sentiment 
are  clearly  traceable.  The  translation  of  Elijah,  as  sculj^tured 
on  a  Christian  sarcophagus  of  the  fifth  century,  contains  a  heathen 
element  in  that  the  Jordan  is  represented  as  a  river  god.  Translation  of 
In  this  there  is  also  a  likeness  to  the  pagan  representa-  Elijah. 
tion  of  the  sun  god,  Apollo,  who  leads  in  the  day  in  his  flaming 
chariot,  while  the  ocean  is  symbolized  by  a  river  god,  and  the  earth 
by  the  horn  of  plenty.  Still  more  striking  is  the  resemblance  of 
Christ  as  the  Good  Shepherd  and  Mercury  as  the  Ram-bearer 
(u.  Figs.  48,  49).  That  the  central  idea  is  of  Christian  origin 
appears  from  the  teaching  of  Christ  himself,  "I  am  The  Good 
the  Good  Shepherd."  Again  he  says,  "  When  he  hath  tTe^R^^m-beTr*! 
found  it  (the  lost  sheep)  he  layeth  it  on  his  shoulders  ing  Mercury. 
rejoicing "  (Luke  xv,  5).  But  that  the  style  of  the  art  repre- 
sentation may  have  been  suggested  by  the  pagan  subject  is  highly 
probable.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  discriminate  between  the 
heathen  and  the  Christian  origin  of  monuments  which  bear  this 
symbol.  A  scientific  treatment  demands  that  all  monuments  bear- 
ing this  figure  must  not,  for  that  reason,  be  reckoned  of  Christian 
origin. 

Again,  both  the  gods  and  the  heroes  of  paganism  furnish  types 
for  Christian  art,  not  on  account  of  resemblance  in  nature,  but  of 

'  For  interesting  examples  v.  Texier  and  Pullan  :  Byzantine  Architecture,  London, 
1864,  especially  the  chapter  "Pagan  Temples  Converted  into  Churches.'" 

'  V.  Piper:  Op.  cit,  i,  ss.  66-77,  where  an  obscure  parallel  is  traced  between  the 
representation  of  the  fall  by  the  serpent,  the  apple,  and  our  first  parents,  and  the 
dragon  watching  the  tree  and  fruit  in  the  Garden  of  the  Hesperides. 


b4  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

likeness  in  office.  The  introduction  of  Orpheus  into  Christian 
frescos  furnishes  an  ilhistration  (v.  Fig.  28).  Frequent  refer- 
Orpheus  and  ence  is  made  to  this  m^'thieal  hero  in  the  apologetic 
Christ.  writings  of  the  Christian  fathers.     With  some  he  sug- 

gests Christ  by  contrariety  rather  than  by  likeness.  Clement  of 
Alexandria'  claims  that  Orpheus  and  others  of  his  class  were  arch- 
deceivers,  who,  under  the  pretence  of  teaching  music  and  song, 
corrupted  the  manners  of  the  people,  and  led  them  under  the 
bondage  of  idolatry  ;  while  Christ  came  to  break  the  enslaving 
yoke  which  the  demons  have  imposed  upon  the  race.  Christ 
alone  has  tamed  man,  the  wildest  beast  ;  the  bird,  the  most  incon- 
stant ;  the  rejjtile,  the  most  treacherous  ;  the  lion,  the  most  pas- 
sionate; the  swine,  the  most  greedy  of  enjoyment;  the  wolf,  the  most 
rapacious  ;  and  the  stones  and  clods,  the  most  insensate.  He  has 
awakened  the  seeds  of  holiness  and  virtue  in  those  who  believe  on 
him,  and  through  heavenly  song  has  changed  these  wild  beasts  into 
civilized  men. 

Eusebius'^  more  usually  sjjeaks  of  Orpheus  as  a  type  of  Christ,  and 
sometimes  as  his  forerunner.  This  view  came  from  ascribing  to  this 
Orpheus  a  type  mythical  bard  the  authorship  of  the  Orphic  verses  Avliich 
of  Christ.  were  by  many  regarded  as  containing  a  heathen  prophecy 

of  the  true  Messiah.  Again,  he  compares  the  influence  of  the  Thracian 
singer  to  that  of  Christ.  As  Orpheus  by  the  sweet  strains  of  his 
Ija-e  tamed  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest,  and  even  caused  the  trees 
to  move,  so  has  the  all-harmonizing  Word  of  God,  when  it  became 
flesh,  healed  the  wild  passions  of  men  through  the  medicine  of 
heavenly  doctrine.  At  times  Orpheus  is  made  the  type  of  Christ 
by  contrasting  the  realms  in  which  his  power  was  exercised. 

Occasional  references  to  the  labors  of  Hercules  are  met  in  early 
Christian  monuments.  The  parallelism  seems  to  be  drawn  between 
the  power  of  Hercules  and  that  of  Christ  as  deliv- 
ercues.  erers  of  men  from  the  thraldom  of  evil.     Also  Apollo 

and  Jupiter  find  occasional  mention  in  connection  with  Christ. 
There  is  a  likeness  between  the  worship  of  saints  and  the  rever- 
ence paid  to  emperors  and  Greek  demigods.  The  latter  may 
have  suggested  the  former,  or  its  origin  may  be  found  in  the  im- 
pulse of  our  nature  to  honour  greatness  and  self-sacrifice.^ 

Another  curious  example   of  the   use  of  heathen   subjects  upon 

'  Cohort,  ad  Gentes,  c.  i,  civSpsg  rivsg  ovx  av6peg,  etc.  "  Certain  so-called  men,  not 
men,  but  deceivers,  who  under  the  pretext  of  music  corrupted  the  life  of  the  people." 

-  Orat.  de  laud.  Constan.,  c.  14.  Orpheum  quandam  omnia  bestiarum  genera  cantu 
deliniisse,  etc. 

^  V.  Martignan  :  La  Foi  chretietme,  p.  66. 


RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART. 


65 


Christian  sarcophagi  is  that  of   Ulysses  and  the  Sirens.     A  slab 
(Fig.  3)   found  in  the  crypt  of  Santa  Lucina  seems  entirely  pagan 
in  its  subject  with  the  exception  of  the  involved  inscrip-   uiysses  and 
tion  at  the  left,  which  has  been  deciphered  TYRANIO,   ^^'^  sirens. 
and  is  believed  by  some  to  be  an  obscured  cross.    This  heathen  fable 


Fig.  3.— Ulysses  and  the  Sirens.    From  the  crypt  of  Santa  Lucina,  Rome. 

is,  nevertheless,  alluded  to  by  the  early  Christian  writers,  and  is 
made  to  serve  a  happy  purpose  in  the  enforcement  of  Christian 
fidelity  and  self-denial.^ 

These  references  to  the  pagan  mythology  are  only  what  might  be 
regarded  as  antecedently  probable  from  the  intimate  acquaintance  of 
the  Christian  fathers  with  the  pagan  systems,  and  from  the  attempt 
to  show  that  in  each  religion  was  an  element  of  truth  which  the  other 
should  respect.  More  especially  after  Christianity  became  the  state 
religion  many  admixtures  of  heathen  and  Christian  motives  are  met. 
According  to  a  law  of  spiritual  life  and  growth,  the  cessation  of 
persecution  and  opposition  brought  laxity  of  morals  and  a  decay  of 
pure  faith.  Multitudes  of  men  and  women  now  formally  professed 
Christianity,  while  little  change  was  effected  in  belief  or  life.  The 
influence  of  classical  literature,  the  contact  with  pagan  influences  ad- 
customs,  and  the  appropriation  of  pagan  symbols,  noAV  verse  to  purity 
gave  little  offence  to  these  nominal  Christians  ;  while  °  °*^  ""^^^ 
the  increasing  splendor  of  the  church  ritual  and  the  growing 
wealth  of  the  clergy  diverted  the  attention  from  the  severity  of 
discipline  and  the  purity  of  doctrine. 

Thus  was  the  prevalent  thought  modified  by  intercourse  with  the 
pagan  world.  Art  standards  were  likewise  changed.  The  mingling 
of  heathen  with  Christian  belief  brought  with  it  an  easy  acceptance 
of  what  was  before  regarded  as  dangerously  contami-  i„flugnce 
nating.  It  cannot,  however,  be  supposed  that  all  raonu-  upon  art  rep- 
ments  thus  transferred  from  pagan  to  Christian  uses  '"^^^'^''^'^^o"- 
were  known  to  be  of  a  character  to  mislead.  Their  heathen  origin 
and  spirit  may  not  have  been  understood,  or  they  may  have  been 
used  allegorically  by  the  Christian  teachers. 


*  PMlosophumena,  vii,  i.     Clement  Alex. :   Cohort,  ad  Gent.,  c.  12. 


66 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


Many  of  the  mythological  subjects  were  onl}^  for  purposes  of 
decoration — as  the  heads  of  satyrs,  tragic  masks,  etc.  (Fig.  4).  Of 
like  import  and  design  must  we  regard  the  occasional  introduction  of 

I   '    "  '  J  dolphins  (Fig.  5),  sea  monsters,  etc.     It  is 

not  easy  to  discover  in  these  any  sym- 
bolical significance,  and  the  attempts  to 
so  interpret  them  have  usually  involved 
violations  of  the  true  principles  of  sym- 
bolism. Where,  however,  the  figure  of 
AjDollo,  associated  with  the  cross,  ap- 
pears upon  the  coins  of  Constantine, 
some  decora-  we  must  regard  Apollo  as  a 
tive  or  typical,  symbol  of  Christ ;  or  when 
the  figure  of  Mars  appears  in  connec- 
tion with  the  sacred  monogram,  it  must 
be  considered  as  an  allegorical  re2:)re- 
sentation  of  the  Saviour. 
Fig.  4.-A  Christian  sar";^gus  A  statue  of  Victory  was  set  up  in 
with  tragic  masks.  the  senate  chamber  by  Augustus.     Each 

senator  on  entering  the  hall  ofi'ered  to  it  wine  and  incense. 
This  statue  was  the  occasion  of  a  most  persistent  sti-uggle 
statue  of  Vic-  between  the  defenders  of  the  pagan  religion  and 
tory.  the   Christian   bishops.*     The    result   was    favorable  to 

the  Christian   party.''     Nevertheless,  the   figure  of  Victory  is  not 


On  coins. 


Fig.  5.— From  a  Christian  sarcophagus.    Decorated  with  dolphins. 

infrequently  associated  on  Christian  monuments  with  the  cross  or 
with  the  sacred  monogram.  In  a  few  instances  it  is 
connected  with  a  bust  of  Christ  on  ivory  diptychs,  and 

on  coins  during  the  Constantinian  and  post-Constantinian  period. 

A  fine  example  of  this  is  found  on  a  gold  coin  of  Constantine  the 

'  For  a  fuller  statement,  v.  chap.  viii. 

'v.  Ambrose:  Epist.  xviii.     This  is  addressed  to  the  Emperor  Valentinian    iu 
answer  to  the  appeal  of  Symmachus. 


RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART.  67 

Great,  where  Victory  holds  in  her  hands  trophies  and  a  pahu 
branch,  while  the  inscription, 

VICTORIA  CONSTANTINI  AUG., 

encloses  a  field  in  which  appears  the  monogram  of  Christ.  A 
bronze  coin  of  Constantino  bears  a  representation  of  the  emperor 
holding  in  his  right  hand  the  labarum  with  the  sacred  monogram, 
while  he  is  crowned  by  a  Victory,  and  HOC  SIGNO  VICTOR  ERIS 
is  the  inscription.*  This  syncretism  is  very  strikingly  exhibited  on 
some  coins  of  Constantius.  In  Fig.  6  the  bust  of  the  emperor 
is  on  the  obverse,  and  on  the  re- 
verse his  full  length  figure  is  seen 
on  the  ship  of  state,  holding  in 
one  hand  the  standard  on  which  is 
the  -^F,  while  upon  the  other  hand 
perches  the  phenix,  the  symbol  of 

rejuvenation    of    the    government    n?.  6— Coinof  Constautius-showingthemin- 

under  Constantino  and  his  sons.  eimgot  heathen  and  christian  emblems. 

This  is  further  illustrated  by  the  usual  inscription  FEL.  TEMP. 
REPARATIO,  and  by  a  Victory  who  is  guiding  the  state  to  its 
glorious  destination. 

A  century  and  a  quarter  later  we  find  on  a  coin  of  Majorian  the 
imperial  ensign  crowned  with  the  cross  (Fig.  7)  ;  this  is  held  by 
the  emperor  in  one  hand,  while  on  the 
other   perches   the    figure   of   Victory. 
He  is  here  represented  as  treading  the 
dragon  under  foot,  a  not  unusual  man- 
ner of   indicating  the   triumph   of  the 
government   over   foes,    and    over   the 
discordant  elements  of  society.     On  the     '^'    '~     *^°century.   ^■'""^°' 
obverse  is  the  bust  of  the  emperor,  and 

the  shield  is  inscribed  with  the  ■^.  On  coins  of  the  Grteco-Roman 
empire  the  figure  of  Victory  appears  associated  with  Christian 
symbols  from  the  time  of  Constantine  to  that  of  Heraclius  I.  The 
same  commingling  of  pagan  and  Christian  elements  likewise  ap- 
pears on  the  coins  of  the  Arian  barbarian  kings,  on  those  of  the 
Frankish,  the  West  Gothic,  and  Longobard  princes,  and  continued 
thus  associated  with  Christian  emblems  until  the  ninth  century. 

We  might  antecedently  expect  that  mythological  subjects  of  an 
amatory  character  would  find  little  favor  with  the  early  Christians. 
The  positive  teachings  of  their  religion,  the  perils  often  attending 
its  profession,  and  the  general   disrepute  in  which  its  early  adher- 

'  Piper:  Op.  cit.,  i,  s.  177. 


68 


ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


ents  were  held,  gave  a  seriousness  to  life  little  favorable  to  the 
Lack  of  ama-  cultivation  of  the  more  delicate  sentiments.  Moreover, 
tory  represen-  Venus  and  Amor  stood  as  the  personifications  of  a  pas- 
tauoiib.  g^^j^  whose   canker  was  eating  out  the  moral  life  of  the 

Roman  world.  With  that  vice  which  was  the  peculiar  besetment  of 
the  converts  from  paganism,  and  against  which  Paul  speaks  so 
strongly  in  his  Corinthian  letters,  the  Christian  Church  could  make 
no  compromise.  The  suggestions  made  by  figures  of  Venus  and 
Cupid  were  peculiarly  repugnant.  Hence  early  Christian  poetry 
furnishes  scarcely  an  example  of  a  nuptial  song,  nor  until  a  com- 
paratively late  date  do  the  monuments  contain  any  reference  to  the 
erotic  deities.  They  were  but  sparingly  introduced,  and  in  most 
instances  the  genuineness  of  the  monuments  upon  which  these 
figures  appear  has  been  gravely  questioned. 

Scarcelj'^  less  aversion  was  felt  to  Bacchic  scenes.  The  higher  sig- 
Paucity  of  nificance  of  the  Bacchic  myth  is  occasionally  recognized 
Bacchic  scenes,  qj^  sarcophagi  of  unquestioned  Christian  origin,  but 
the  paucity  of  these  monuments  plainly  indicates  the  opinion  of  the 
Church  respecting  their  influence. 

Somewhat  difl^erent,  however,  was  the  feeling  with  regard  to  the 
myth  of  Amor  and  Psyche.  In  this  was  veiled  a  deep  spiritual 
Amor  and  import.  The  fundamental  thoughts  were  the  wanderings 
Psyche.  of  the  soul  in  this  life  as  in  a  vale  of  death,  its  trial  and 

purification,  and  the  reunion  of  the  spiritualized  wanderer  with 
eternal  love  in  the  life  to  come.     Tlie  association  of  this  heathen 


Fig.  8.— Amor  and  Psyche.    From  Santa  Domitllla. 

fable  with  scriptural  scenes  on  burial  monuments  of  acknowledged 
Christian  origin'  (Fig.  8)  indicates  a  likeness  of  opinion  of  pagan- 

'  This  scene  has  been  variously  interpreted  by  the  archfeolop:lsts.     Some  claim 
that  it  is  merely  decorative,  depicting  a  pleasing  garden  or  autumn  scene. 


RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART. 


69 


Fik. 


111(1  Psyche  with  tin 
San  Callsto,  Rome. 


(Ml  sli(  plierd, 


ism  and  of  Christianity  with  respect  to  the  significance  of  proba- 
tion and  the  rewards  of  a  future  state.  This  is  suggested  in 
Fig.  9,  which  is  from  the  fragment  of  a  sarcophagus,  in  relief 
sculpture,  found  in  the  ceme-  ^ 
tery  of  San  Calisto,  and  now 
preserved  in  the  Lateran  Mu- 
seum at  Rome.  Amor  and 
Psyche  are  here  in  imme- 
diate association  with  the 
Good  Shepherd.  There  can 
be  little  doubt  but  that  the 
deeper  significance  of  this 
myth  is  here  intended  ;  pos- 
sibly there  is  the  further  sug- 
gestion that  the  sojourner 
here  can  be  successful  in  his 
attempt  at  purification  and 
restoration  to  the  bosom  of 
Eternal  Love  only  by  the 
merit  and  the  protection  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  who,  when  he  hath 
found  the  straying  one,  layeth  it  upon  his  shoulders  and  bringeth  it 
back  to  the  fold. 

In  the  severe  criticisms  to  which  the  heathen  systems  were  sub- 
jected by  the  early  Christian  fathers,  comparisons  are  frequently 
instituted  between  the  pagan  teachings  and  the  sacred  Scriptures 
relative  to  the  agencies  that  may  be  employed  in  the  administration 
of  the  government  of  the  world.  Both  pagans  and  Christians  alike 
believed  in  a  realm  of  supernatural  intelligences  by  which  human 
affairs  are  influenced.  In  the  heathen  system  the  inferior  gods  and 
genii  held  a  place  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  angelic  Guardian 
hierarchy  in  the  Christian  scheme.  As  in  classical  mythol-  angels. 
ogy  to  each  human  being  was  assigned  a  particular  genius,  representa- 
tive partly  of  the  ideal  man  and  partly  of  the  peculiar  gifts  and 
powers  of  the  individual,  so  in  the  writings  of  the  Christian 
fathers  the  doctrine  of  guardian  angels  was  developed  and  taught. 
These  points  of  contact  in  the  two  systems  may  furnish 
one  reason  for  the  commingling  on  Christian  monuments 
of  heathen  genii  with  Scripture  characters  and  scenes.  The  earlier 
view  of  the  fathers  that  the  heathen  genii  were  evil  spirits,  mes- 
sengers of  temptation  to  the  human  soul,  was  afterward  modified, 
and  the  peculiar  offence  given  by  the  representation  of  genii  was  so 
far  diminished  that  from  the  fourth  to  the  sixth  centuries  many 
examples  of  these,  nude  or  draped,  are  seen  upon  the  Christian  burial 


Genii. 


70 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


The  phenix. 


monuments  {v.  Fig.  10).  Just  how  far  these  figures  of  genii 
were  for  purposes  of  mere  ornament,  or  may  have  had  a  religious 
or  dogmatic  significance,  has  divided  the  opin- 
ions of  the  ablest  archaeologists.'  To  draw  the 
line  between  the  genii  monuments  which  plainly 
represent  heathen  ideas  and  those  whereon  the 
figures  express  the  Christian  belief  in  angels  is 
not  an  easy  task. 

Besides  that  of  Orpheus,  to  which  refei'ence 
has  already  been  made,  other  heathen  myths 
were  widely  appropriated  by  the  Christian 
fathers  in  the  exposition  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
in  the  illustration  of  doctrine.  Among  these 
the  phenix  played  an  important  role.  The  later 
version  of  this  fable  was  most  com- 
monly used  by  the  Christian  apol- 
ogist, and  its  representation  is  met  with  on  Chris- 
tian monuments.  Artemidorus  says  that  when  it 
is  about  to  die  the  phenix  comes  from  unknown 
parts  to  Egypt,  and  builds  a  funeral  pile  of 
frankincense  and  myrrh.  From  its  ashes  comes 
a  worm,  from  which  arises  another  phenix  that 
then  leaves  Egypt  to  return  to  its  unknown 
home.  Thus  in  this  fabled  creature  the  two 
ideas  of  immortality  and  per2:)etual  rejuvenation 
were  united.  On  the  coins  and  other  monu- 
ments of  the  empire  since  the  time  of  Hadrian 
this  figure  is  the  symbol  of  the  returning  golden 
age,*  of  the  apotheosis  and  immortality  of  the 

'  Grousset:  Etude  sur  VEistoire  des  Sarcophages  Chretiens, 
Paris,  ]885,  8vo,  has  given  a  catalogue  and  descrii^tion  of 
one  liundred  and  ninety-five  Christian  sarcophagi  found  in 
Rome  outside  of  the  collection  in  the  Lateran  Museum. 
On  many  of  tliese  is  noticed  the  commingling  of  Christian 
and  pagan  motives.  Indeed,  in  many  instances  the  Christ- 
ian character  of  the  sarcophagus  is  determined  solely  by  its 
inscription,  wliile  the  art  and  the  decorations  are  in  no  way 
to  be  distinguished  from  the  heatlien  sarcophagi  of  tlie 
same  period.  Vintage  scenes,  genii  of  tiie  seasons,  Cupids  nude  or  draped.  Hercules 
with  lion's  skin  (No.  5),  genii  holding  the  inverted  torch  (the  pagan  symbol  of  death) 
etc.,  appear  especially  on  those  sarcopliagi  that  are  believed  to  belong  to  the  third 
century.  See  also  Matz  und  v.  Duhn :  Antlke  Bildwerke  in  Rom,  and  Garrucci : 
Storia  delV  Art  cristiana. 
2  V.  Fig.  6. 


s^n 


RELxiTlONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ART.  71 

rulers,  and  of  the  eternal  duration  of  the  Roman  government.  The 
fable  had  also  found  its  way  into  Jewish  literature.  Occasionally 
the  Christian  fathers  thereby  illustrated  the  story  of  the  creation, 
but  usually  it  was  quoted  in  defence  of  the  peculiarly  Christian 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  In  the  first  century  Clement  of  Rome 
uses  this  argument.  It  is  also  found  in  the  Apostolic  Constitu- 
tions, in  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  and  in  Epiphanius.  The  Latin 
fathers  were  equally  ready  to  use  this  fable.  Tertullian  argued 
from  the  lesser  value  of  the  phenix  to  the  greater  value  of  mankind; 
that  if  the  former  thus  rises  from  its  own  ashes  to  a  new  and  youth- 
ful vigor  it  cannot  be  unreasonable  to  expect  that  God  will  care 
for  those  whom  he  created  in  his  own  image.  In  like  manner 
argued  Ambrose,  Augustine,  and  Rufinus.  Ambrose  quoted  the 
rising  of  the  phenix  as  analagous  to  the  supernatural  a  symbol  of 
begetting  of  Christ  without  father,  and  Rufinus  referred  the  resurrec- 
to  the  renewing  of  the  phenix  and  its  producing  itself 
from  itself  as  a  sufficient  answer  to  the  heathen  who  ridiculed  the 
story  of  the  birth  of  Christ  from  a  virgin.^ 

The  artistic  representation  of  this  fable  is  sometimes  met  on  the 
coins  of  Christian  emperors  and  on  other  Christian  monuments. 
It  is  associated  with  the  palm-tree  or  the  palm  branch  on  sarcoph- 
agi plainly  of  Christian  origin,  in  mural  paintings,  and  in  Church 
mosaics  (Fig.  43)  of  later  origin.  In  nearly  all  these  examples  the 
same  ruling  thought  is  i*ecognised;  namely,  the  resurrection  from 
the  dead  and  life  beyond  the  grave.'' 

These  few  examples,  chosen  from  a  wide  cycle,  illustrate  the 
intimate  connection  of  heathen  and  Christian  thought,  and  the 
corresponding  influence  upon  Christian  art  as  seen  in  surviving 
monuments. 

'  Ambrose:  Psa.  cxviii,  serm.  19,  c.  11.  Rufinus:  Comment,  in  Symb.  AposL,  c.  11, 
quoted  by  Piper ;  Myih.  d.  christ.  Kunst,  Bd.  i,  s  455. 
^  Miinter:  Sinnbilder,  etc.,  Heft,  i,  ss.  94-97. 


72  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SYMBOLISM  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

§  1.  Oeneral  P)'iiiciples. 

A  SYMBOL  is  the  outward  sign  of  a  concept  or  idea.  It  is  the 
visible,  sensuous  veil  of  that  which  is  unseen  and  spiritual.'  It  is 
^  „  .,.  used  not  for  its  own  sake,  but  to  bring  to  mind  some- 

Deflnition.  '  '^. 

thing  not  sensuously  present  as  though  it  were  present. 
Originally  it  was  more  specially  limited  to  the  cycle  of  religious 
thought,  and  served  for  the  illustration  of  divine-human  relations." 

All  sensuous  things  to  which  a  higher  meaning,  aside  from  the 
natural  significance,  is  attributed,  are  symbols.^  All  religions  are 
measurably  symbolic  in  character.  The  expression  of  spiritual 
truths  and  abstract  notions  by  analogous  phenomena  in  the  physical 
world  has  been  common  to  all  peoples  and  religions.  To  commu- 
nicate these  conceptions  to  others,  and  fix  them  by  the  laws  of 
association,  it  is  necessary  to  give  to  them  formal  expression. 
Hence  the  successful  teaching  of  the  doctrines  of  a  religion  must  in 
some  sense  involve  symbolism.* 

This  was  the  favorite  method  employed  by  Christ  to  initiate  the 
Christ  flisciples  into  the  deeper  mysteries  of  his  kingdom.* 
and  his  apos-  The  writings  of  the  apostles  and  of  the  early  Christian 
*'^**  fathers  abound  in  symbolic  expressions  which  were  de- 

signed to  arrest  the  attention  of  those  whom  they  addressed,  and 
more  powerfully  to  impress  the  lessons  which  they  would  teach. 
Also  practised  What  was  tlius  practised  in  language  became  likewise 
i°  art.  common  in  art  representation.     To  guard  the  heathen 

converts  on  the  one  hand  against  idolatry,  and  on  the  other  against 

'  Biilir :   Symbolik  des  mosaischen  CuUus,  Bd.  i,  s.  1 5. 

^  Creuzer:  Symbolik  u.  Mytlwlogie,  Bd.  i,  ss.  32-42. 

^  Diirsch  :   Der  symholische  Character  der  christlichen  Religion  u.  Kumt,  s.  8. 

*  Hence  the  use  of  the  word  symbol  to  express  the  formulated  belief  of  a  religious 
party. 

5  "  His  example  was  helpful  in  giving  direction  to  the  thought  of  the  believers  of 
the  early  centuries.  To  a  great  degree  symbolism  was  found  in  the  mysteries  of  all 
ancient  religions.  It  also  supplied  a  secret  password  whereby  communication 
became  more  free  than  otherwise  were  possible.  The  intellectual  mysticism  of  that 
age  also  greatly  contributed  to  the  same  end."  Roller:  Les  Catacombes  de  Rome,  vol. 
i,  p.  38. 


SYMBOLISM  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART.  73 

the  pernicious  effects  of  the  Docetic  heresy,  early  Chi-istian  art  be- 
took itself  to  symbolism,  by  whose  aid  the  deeper  truths  and  mv',* 
teries  of  the  religion  could  be  more  effectually  impressed  upon  the 
masses  of  the  people.  Thus  in  art  as  well  as  in  language  the 
symbol  was  the  means  of  revealing  the  higher  spiritual  reality.' 
Herein  Christian  art  resembled  the  later  Roman,  which  seldom 
represented  objects  literally,  but  employed  visible  forms  to  express 
abstract  notions.  '•* 

Since  art  symbols  address  the  beholder  in  a  language  peculiar  to 
themselves,  the  relation  between  the  idea  and  its  symbol  symbols  not 
must  not  be  merely  fortuitous  or  arbitrary,  but  must  be  arbitrary. 
such  that  the  one  suggests  the  other  ;  and  while  the  connection 
may  not  be  independently  discoverable  by  all,  it  will  be  imme- 
diately recognised  when  explained.  The  outward  form  must  be 
developed  from  the  inner  spirit,  whose  expression  and  symbol 
it  is.^" 

Likewise  the  interpretation  of  art  symbolism  requires  good 
judgment  and  caution,  lest  unworthy  and  misleading  conclusions 
be  accepted,  and  the  symbolism  of  eai'ly  Christian  caution  in 
art  thus  become  a  wild  maze  of  contradiction  and  interpretation. 
absurdity.  Its  interpretation  should  not  be  arbitrary  or  whim- 
sical, nor  should  it  become  a  stage  for  the  display  of  baseless 
fancies.  Symbols  appeal  to  the  sober  reason  rather  than  to 
the  aesthetic  feeling  or  to  the  imagination.  Hence  all  the  aids  of 
history  and  of  literature,  as  well  as  of  art,  must  be  brought  to  their 
correct  interpretation.  A  single  historical  reference,  contemporary 
with  the  symbol  to  be  explained,  is  often  of  greater  value  than 
all  the  ingenious  speculations  of  learned  critics.  Familiarity  with 
the  cycle  of  the  thought  of  an  age  and  with  its  tendencies  and 

'  "  Liglit  becomes  the  symbol  of  intellectual  clearness ;  the  murky  and  beclouded 
atmosphere,  of  a  troubled  spirit;  water,  of  bodily  purification  and  spiritual  regener- 
ation; the  circle,  or  the  serpent  holding  its  tail  in  its  mouth,  of  eternal  duration;  the 
tree,  as  it  puts  forth  its  verdure,  decays,  and  blooms  again,  of  the  changing  seasons ; 
the  engendering  bull  and  ram,  of  generative  and  creative  power;  the  cow  or  the 
matron  with  many  breasts,  of  the  all-nourishing  power  of  nature;  the  butterfl}^, 
bursting  forth  from  the  entombed  chrysalis,  of  the  resurrection."  v.  Carriere  :  Die 
Kunst  in  Zusnmmenhang  mit  der  CuUurgeschichte,  Bd.  i,  ss.  70-72. 

^  Kugler :    Geschichte  der  Malerei. 

^  Jacob:  Die  Kunst  in  Diemte  der  Kirche,  ss.  16,  17.  v.  Heinrich  Otte:  Kunst- 
archaologie  des  deutschen  Mittelalters,  4te  Aufl.,  1868,  s.  i,  etc.  "  Art  is  the  appro- 
priate representation  of  an  idea  in  sensuous  form.  To  completely  represent  Christian 
ideas  under  sensuous  forms  is  absolutely  unattainable;  hence  tiie  symbolic  cliaracter 
of  all  Christian  art  and  the  necessity  of  faith  as  a  condition  of  its  true  understanding 
and  interpretation." 


74  ARCHiEOLOGY  OF  CKRISTIAN  ART. 

spirit  is  needful  for  correctly  interpreting  its  art  symbolism.  The 
work  is  greatly  aided  when  a  considerable  number  of  references  to 
the  symbol  can  be  found  in  the  contem})orary  literature.  It  is, 
therefore,  a  canon  of  interpretation  that  the  literary  references 
be  carefully  considered.  By  comparing  the  works  of  Christian 
symbolism  with  each  other,  with  those  of  the  contemporary 
Canons  of  in-  heathen  art,  and  both  of  these  with  the  holy  Scriptures, 
terpretation.  the  writings  of  the  Christian  fathers,  and  with  the 
related  inscriptions  and  literature  of  the  times,  most  satisfactory 
results  will  be  reached.  Hence  a  second  canon  of  interpretation  is 
that  the  sense  must  be  accepted  which  best  accords  with  these 
results  of  comparative  study.' 

Happily,  in  many  instances  the  coincidences  are  so  numerous  and 
important  that  the  interpi-etation  is  clearly  manifest ;  in  others 
it  may  be  doubtful ;  while  in  still  others  opinions  of  the  significance 
of  the  symbol  may  be  absolutely  contradictory.  For  the  interests 
of  both  art  and  religion,  in  these  latter  cases  it  is  wise  to  suspend 
judgment  iintil  further  discoveries,  rather  than  to  press  doubtful 
monuments  and  interpretations  into  the  service  of  any  preconceived 
theory. 

Christian  archaeologists  may  be  divided  into  schools  according  to 
their  opinions  of  the  originality  of  early  Christian  art,  and  of  the 
design  of  the  various  works  which  are  found  in  the  Christian  cata- 
combs and  elsewhere. 

One  school  holds  that  the  art  works  of  the  catacombs  were  pre- 
pared under  the  direction  of  ecclesiastics  for  the  purpose  of  incul- 
cating a  definite  system  of  Christian  doctrine.  They  are,  therefore, 
to  be  regarded  as  strictly  of  a  symbolic  character,  whose  signifi- 
cance was  understood  by  the  initiated  of  the  Christian  Church,  but 
was  veiled  from  profane  eyes.  According  to  this  theory  the  clergy 
were  the  real  artists,  while  they  who  executed  the  works  were  mere 
artisans  who  had  no  part  in  their  origination.  Even  where  the 
presence  of  purely  decorative  elements  is  undeniable,  and  these 
have  plainly  been  derived  from  classic  art,  little  inquiry  is  made 
respecting  the  probable  influence  of  the  heathen  cycle  of  thought 
upon  the  Christian,  but  the  symbolic  and  dogmatic  character  of 
these  monuments  is  strenuously  maintained.  This  class  of  Avriters 
is  entirely  consistent  ;  for  if  the  purely  symbolic  character  of  the 
remains  is  conceded,  their  dogmatic  purpose  must  follow,  since  it  is 
hardly  conceivable  that  the  Christian  artificers  could  have  had  the 
ability  or  the  purpose  to  work  out  a  consistent  cycle  of  Christian 
symbolism.  If,  therefore,  it  is  maintained  that  the  origin  of  these 
■  Kraus:   Roma  Sotterranea,  ss.  200,  201. 


SYMBOLISM  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART.  75 

works  must  be  found  in  a  desire  to  teach  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church  to  the  initiated — that  they  were  a  sort  of  Uhlia  pauperum — 
then  must  their  symbolic  character  be  conceded.* 

The  position  of  a  second  school  is  well  defined  by  Hasenclever: 
"  The  art  work  found  on  and  in  Christian  burial  monuments  is  es- 
sentially decorative,  not  symbolic.  But  whatever  of  a  symbolic  char- 
acter is  connected  with  them  first  originated  from  an  association  of 
figures  which  were  already  widely  known  and  used  with  Christian 
ideas.  These  figures  created  the  symbolism,  but  the  purpose  to  use 
a  symbolism  did  not  originate  the  figures."  "^  It  is  as  unhistorical  to 
sunder  the  connection  of  the  symbolism  of  the  early  Christian  burial 
monuments  from  that  of  the  contemporary  heathen  monuments  as 
to  sunder  the  whole  cycle  of  Christian  art,  the  entire  Christian 
civilization,  and  even  the  very  origin  of  Christianity  itself  from 
its  connection  with  the  intellectual,  aesthetic,  and  moral  develop- 
ment of  the  non-Christian  world. ^  This  principle,  eminently  just 
in  itself,  has,  however,  insensibly  blinded  the  eyes  of  its  defenders 
to  certain  historical  facts,  or,  at  least,  has  led  them  to  underrate 
their  value.  There  has  resulted  a  general  denial  of  the  originality 
of  Christian  art  works,  and  a  depreciation  of  the  biblical  cycle 
of  events  as  the  source  of  much  of  the  early  Christian  symbolism. 
This  school  has  erred  by  its  lacks,  as  has  the  former  by  its 
excesses. 

As  in  most  other  controverted  questions,  sound  criticism  sug- 
gests the  happy  via  media.  The  more  moderate  school  recognises 
the  influence  of  contemporary  heathen  thought,  and  yet  does  not 
disregard  the  powerful  influence  of  the  biblical  history,  nor  deny  to 
the  early  Church  a  measure  of  symbolic  art  origination." 

^  To  this  school  belong  de  Rossi  and  most  of  those  who  have  made  his  Roma 
Sotterranea  the  source  and  foundation  of  their  investigations.  "While  a  most  admir- 
able scientific  spirit  has  characterized  the  great  master,  de  Rossi,  others  have  pushed 
their  theory  to  the  wildest  extremes,  and  have  endeavored  to  use  this  symbolism 
not  only  for  apologetic,  but  even  partisan,  purposes.  This  is  conspicuous  in  the 
works  of  Garrucci,  especially  in  his  last  and  greatest  work,  Stwia  delT  arte  cristiana, 
Prato,  1873,  et  seq.  6  vols.  See  also  Martigny  :  Dictionnaire  des  Aniiquites  chretiennes, 
2d  ed,  Paris,  1877. 

"^  Der  altchristliche  Graberschmuck,  Braunschweig,  1886,  s.  260. 

^  To  this  school  belong  Raoul-Rochette,  Parker,  and  others. 

*  In  this  class  of  writers  may  be  placed  Piper,  who  has  done  so  much  to 
emphasize  the  influence  of  the  classical  mytliology  upon  early  Cliristian  art,  yet 
has  given  the  Church  due  credit  for  symbolic  origination.  Also  Victor  Schultze, 
who  has  assailed  the  extreme  claims  of  the  first  school,  yet  may  not  have  been  con- 
sistent in  all  his  interpretations,  belongs  to  this  more  moderate  school.  Roller  has  aimed 
at  the  same  results,  but  is  sometimes  lacking  in  unity,  and  seems  at  times  confused. 
See  also  Wilpert :  Die  prhicipien  Fragen  der  clLristlichen  Archieologie.    Freiburg,  1889. 


76  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

§  2.   Christ. 

No  authentic  portrait  of  Christ  has  been  preserved  to  our  time. 
Whether  such  ever  existed  is  a  matter  of  serious  question.'  The 
No  portrait  at  circumstances  of  his  earthly  ministry  were  entirely 
Christ  extant,  unfavorable  to  his  portraiture.  Neither  the  social 
rank  of  his  family,  the  character  of  his  first  disciples,  the  re- 
ception which  his  doctrine  met,  nor  the  spirit  of  the  I'eligion 
which  he  founded,  would  warrant  the  presumption  that  any  au- 
thentic likeness  of  Christ  could  ever  have  been  produced.  Indeed, 
all  literal  representation  of  its  Founder  seems  to  have  been 
avoided  by  the  Church  of  the  first  three  centuries.  His  person, 
life,  and  office  were  concealed  under  symbols  which  were  especially 
valued  by  those  whom  persecution  and  a  common  interest  united  by 
still  firmer  ties  of  friendship,  and  whose  significance  was  understood 
only  by  the  initiated. 

Among  the  earliest  and  most  frequently  recurring  symbols  is  the 

lamb.     It  is  found  on  mosaics,  is  associated  with    in- 
The  lamb.  .      .  ,       •   ,  i     •        ,  •     ,    n 

scriptions    on    burial   monuments,    and    is   chiseled    on 

sarcophagi,  or  painted  on  walls  of  the  catacombs.  Both  the  char- 
acter and  work  of  Christ  are  shadowed  forth  under  this  form. 
The  mention  of  it  is  so  frequent,  both  in  Scripture  and  in  the 
writings  of  the  early  Christian  fathers,  that  there  can  be  no  doubt 
as  to  its  reference  and  significance.  Such  passages  as  Isa.  liii,  7  ; 
John  i,  29  ;  1  Pet.  i,  19  ;  Rev.  v,  6,  8,  12  ;  Rev.  xiii,  8,  and  many 
others  are  decisive.  Moreover,  the  representation  of  the  lamb  in 
connection  with  the  cross,  with  the  A  Q,  or  with  the  monogram  of 
Christ,  •^  J  further  confirms  these  references.  It  is  found  upon  sar- 
cophagi of  marble,  and  in  the  mosaics  which  adorn  the  triumphal 
arches  and  apses  of  the  ancient  churches.  Sometimes  the  lamb 
stands  upon  the  summit  of  a  hill  from  which  issue  four  streams, 
at  whose  base  a  number  of  sheep  are  found.*  This  seems  to  have 
reference  to  Psa.  ii,  6,  and  to  Ezek.  xliii,  12,  where  the  king  is 
in  his  holy  hill,  and  where  "upon  the  top  of  the  mountain  the 

'  The  traditions  of  the  painting  of  portraits  of  the  Saviour  by  St.  Lul<e  are  of  late 
origin,  and  wholly  lack  foundation.  Evagrius  of  the  sixth  century,  the  last  contin- 
uator  of  Eusehius's  history,  is  the  first  who  mentions  the  portrait  of  Christ  which 
the  Saviour  is  said  to  liave  sent  to  Abgar,  prince  of  Edessa.  While  the  tradition  is 
much  older  than  the  sixth  century,  it  is  entirely  untrustworthy.  Tlie  legend  of  St. 
Veronica  is  of  still  later  origin.  Also  the  statue  of  Christ,  which  was  set  up  at 
Csesarea  Phihppi,  was  described  by  Eusebius  from  a  mere  loctil  tradition.  Of  no 
greater  value  is  the  description  of  Christ's  personal  appearance  attributed  to  Len- 
tulus,  a  reputed  contemporary  of  Pontius  Pilate,  in  his  letter  to  the  Roman  Senate. 

*  V.  Fig.  42.     In  the  lower  zone  of  this  mosaic  this  sceue  is  depicted. 


SYMBOLISM   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART.  7V 

whole  limit  thereof  round  about  shall  be  most  holy,"  or  to  Rev. 
vii,  17,  where  the  "Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall 
feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  water." 
The  streams  are  usually  interpreted  as  either  the  four  rivers  Avhich 
flow  from  paradise,  or  as  the  four  evangelists,  and  the  sheep  as 
the  members  of  Christ's  Church.  This  symbol,  with  a  variety 
of  accompaniments,  continued  in  the  Church  until  its  further  use 
Avas  forbidden  by  the  Trullan  Council  at  Constantinople,  A.  D. 
692.  The  prohibition  seems  to  have  been  occasioned  by  prohibited  ia 
the  mystical,  extravagant,  and  misleading  role  which  the  East. 
it  then  played.  The  Westei-n  Church,  however,  did  not  accept  the 
decision,  and  the  lamb  continued  to  be  used  in  ecclesiastical  art 
until  the  reign  of  Charlemagne,  and  in  connection  with  continued  use 
the  crucifix  (as  in  the  Agnus  Dei)  long  remained  an  ^°  '^^  ^®*''" 
object  of  reverence  in  the  Latin  Church. 

Of  frequent  recurrence  on  Christian  monuments,  and  of  even 
deeper  symbolic  and  dogmatic  significance,  is  the  fish. 
It  is  among  the  earliest  art  forms,  and  pertains  to  the 
period  of  church  history  which  causes  it  to  be  among  the  most 
interesting  and  important  objects  in  the  whole  range  of  Christian 
symbolism.  It  can  be  studied  on  monuments  that  bear  the  simple 
word  'IxOvg,  and  on  those  which  have  its  pictorial  representation. 
The  interpretation  of  the  symbol  is  determined  by  its  age,  its  asso- 
ciations, and  the  testimony  of  the  early  fathers.  De  Rossi  has  di- 
vided the  Christian  inscriptions  at  Rome  prior  to  the  seventh  century 
into  two  Gfeneral  classes,  namely:  1.  The  subterranean,   _,       ,  . 

&  '  ''  _  '    Two  classes  of 

which  are  the  oldest.    2.  Those  which  are  found  in  church   christian     in- 

burial  places  above  the  surface,  especially  in  and  near  ^'^''p  "^'^*- 

basilicas.     The  latter  class  belongs  for  the  most  part  to  the  post- 

Constantine  period.     At   the   time   of   Constantine  the  catacombs 

were  generally  used  for  Christian  burial.    Between  the  years  A.  D.  338 

and  A.  D.  364  two  thirds  of  all  interments  were  still   .  ,         ,    . 

Interment     in 

made  in  them.  From  A.  D.  364  to  A.  D.  369  the  num-  the  catacombs 
bers  buried  in  the  catacombs  and  elsewhere  were  about  '^^  Ro°i''- 
equal.  On  account  of  the  restoration  of  the  catacombs  by  the  zeal 
of  Pope  Damasus,  from  A.  D.  370  to  A.  D.  371  burial  therein  again 
became  almost  universal.  From  A.  D.  373  to  A.  D.  400  The  ichthus 
only  about  one  third  were  there  buried;  while  with  the  ^re-consten- 
year  A.  D,  410  these  places  of  interment  ceased  to  be  tine, 
used.  Of  the  monuments  found  at  Rome  which  bear  this  symbol 
very  few  (probably  none  at  all)  belong  to  the  second  class,  and 
few,  therefore,  can  be  regarded  as  of  later  origin  than  the  beginning 
of  the  fifth  centiiry.     The  symbolical  Ichthus  is  associated  Avith  none 


78  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

of  the  hundreds  of  inscriptions  found  upon  the  extra-eatacombal 
monuments  in  and  near  the  basilicas  of  Rome.' 

From  the  great  difference  in  the  number^  of  monuments  bearing 
an  exact  date  before  and  after  the  time  of  Constantine,  from  the 
form  of  the  letters,  and  from  the  character  of  the  associated  inscrip- 
De  Rossi's  tions  and  paintings,  de  Rossi  concludes  that  most  of  the 
conclusion.  Ichthus  monuments  belong  to  a  time  either  before  or  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  this  emperor.  The  figure  is  met  on  monuments  of 
the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  but  it  had  then  lost  the  dogmatic  sig- 
nificance which  was  attached  to  it  during  the  third  and  fourth 
centuries,  and  is  used  rather  for  ornamental  than  symbolical  pur- 
poses. From  a  variety  of  considerations  it  is  believed  that  its 
peculiar  and  general  use  fell  in  the  period  when  the  persecuted 
Church  was  compelled  to  express  its  faith  under  forms  and  sj^mbols 
which  were  unmeaning  to  their  enemies,  yet  were  well  understood 
by  the  initiated  who  were  participants  in  the  holy  sacraments. 

But  what  truth  is  conveyed  under  this  strange  symbol  ?  The 
itssignifl-  discovery  by  de  Rossi,  in  1865,  of  anew  part  of  the 
cance.  cemetery  of  Santa  Domitilla  at  Rome  was  further  con- 

firmatory of  the  opinion  before  held  by  many  archaeologists. 
Through  a  vestibule  of  severest  classic  style  the  visitor  passes  along 
a  broad  entrance,  somewhat  inclined,  from  which  small  chambers 
and  side  passages  extend  to  the  right  and  left.  The  ceilings  con- 
tain paintings  which,  from  their  simplicity  and  naturalness,  point  to 
an  origin  prior  to  the  time  of  Roman  art  decadence.  De  Rossi  has 
Cemetery  oi  ^ot  hesitated  to  place  the  frescos  of  this  part  of  the 
Domitilla.  cemetery  in  the  time  of  Domitilla,  that  is,  at  the  close 

of  the  first  century,  or,  at  latest,  in  the  first  part  of  the  second. 
On  the  walls  of  this  portion  of  the  catacomb  are  found  the  mutilated 
remains  of  a  fresco,  represented  by  Fig.  11,  to  which  careful  atten- 
tion should  be  directed.  We  notice  two  persons  sitting  upon  a 
The  important  couch  ;  before  them  is  a  table  of  the  ordinary  Roman 
fresco.  type,  upon  which  lie  three  loaves  of  bread  and  a  fish. 

A  person,  apparently  a  servant,  is  standing  near  by.  The  repre- 
sentation plainly  suggests  to  every  one  a  meal.  It  corresponds 
quite  closely  with  similar  scenes  depicted  on  the  graves  of  heathen 

'  The  seeming  exceptions  to  this  statement  appear  to  have  belonged  originally  3o 
the  catacombs,  and  to  have  been  removed  to  churches  for  purposes  of  ornament  or 
on  account  of  their  peculiar  sanctity. 

*  Of  the  pre-Constantine  period  only  about  thirty  dated  inscriptions  from  Rome 
have  been  preserved,  while  of  the  post-Constantine  prior  to  the  seventh  century 
more  than  thirteen  hundred  survive.  But  none  of  the  inscriptions  after  the  fourth 
century  bear  the  symbol  of  the  fish. 


SYMBOLISM  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


families,  and  the  conclusion  reached  is  that  the  sitting  figures  rep- 
resent persons  who  were  buried  in  this  catacomb,  and  that  before 
us  is  a  scene  from  their  everyday  life.  But  on  non-Christian  burial 
monuments  the  fish  is  the  symbol  of  luxui-y,  associated  with  royalty 
or  the  favored  few;  on  those  of  the  Chx'istians  it  cannot  comport 

41  "^^'^ 


Fig.  11.— Supposed  eucharistlc  scene.    Fresco  from  the  oldest  part  of  Santa  Domitilla,  Rome. 

with  this  idea,  and  we  must  interpret  it  in  accordance  with  the 
opinion  which  the  Christian  fathers  entertained  that  this  must  be 
the  symbol  of  Christ.  'l7]aovg  Xptarog  Qsov  Tiog  Imttjq  is  the  confes- 
sion of  faith  whose  initial  letters  form  this  word  f^i^i;^-,  fish,  so 
frequently  met,  whose  pictorial  representation  is  seen  in  the  case  be- 
fore us.  The  meal  here  celebrated  must  be  resrarded  as  havinsr  a 
eucharistic  significance;  the  table  of  the  householder  becomes  the 
table  of  the  Lord,  and  the  proper  priestly  character  of  each  private 
Christian  is  here  asserted.  Herein  is  fulfilled  the  prophecy  (Isa.  Ixi,  6) 
of  the  old  dispensation  as  it  was  witnessed  and  affirmed  by  the  apostles 
of  the  new  (l  Pet.  ii,  5, 9).  Prior  to  the  fourth  century  this  explanation 
is  infrequent,  but  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  and  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  centuries  undoubted  references  to 
it  are  made  by  the  Christian  fathers. 
It  occurs  in  the  eighth  book  of  the 
Sibylline  oracles  (ver.  217-250),  assigned 
by  some  to  the  end  of  the  second  cen- 
tury. Whenever  this  word  or  the  figure 
of  the  fish  was  seen  in  connection  with 
other  symbols  and  inscriptions  (v.  Fig. 
12),  or  engraved  upon  gems  in  signet 
rings,  or  for  ]iurposes  of  ornament,  this  precious  doctrine  was  rec- 
ognised: 'Ilrjaovg],  Jesus;  X[piaT6g],  Christ;  6[€oi;],  of  God;  T[tdf], 
Son;  2[a)T?/p],  Saviour — Jesus  Christ,  Son  of  God,  Saviour. 


Fig.  13.— The  flsh  with  other  Chris- 
tian symbols.   From  a  sarcophagrus. 


80 


ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CH1U6T1AA  AKT. 


Other  mural  paintings  from  the  catacombs  at  Rome  and  elsewhere 
confirm  the  correctness  of  this  interpretation.  Some  of  them  bear 
unmistakable  evidence  of  the  eucharistic  character  of  the  feast,  in 
which  the  fish  is  the  central  figure.' 

Among  the  most  instructive  is  the  series  of  fi-escos  from  the 
Catacomb  of  San  Calisto — that  portion  called  the  "  Chamber  of  the 
Sacraments"  (Fig.  13).    On  the  left  of  the  central  scene  "we  see 


Fig.  13.— Fresco  from  the  "  Chamber  of  the  Sacraments,"  San  Calisto.    Suggesting  the  eucha- 
ristic meal. 

the  three-legged  table  having  on  it  bread  and  fish,  Math  a  woman 
standing  on  one  side  of  it  in  the  attitude  of  prayer  ;  and  a  man 
on  the  other,  clad  only  in  the  'pallinm,  extending  his  hands, 
and  especially  his  right  hand,  toward  the  table  in  such  a  way  as  to 
force  upon  every  Christian  intelligence  the  idea  of  the  act  of 
consecration."  ^  In  the  central  group  are  seen  seven  men  sitting  at 
a  table  with  bread  and  fish,  and  before  them  are  eight  baskets  of 
loaves.  To  the  right  is  the  representation  of  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac, 
while  on  the  extreme  right  and  left  of  the  picture  are  fossores  with 
arm  extended,  and  the  pickaxe  in  usual  form  resting  upon  the 
shoulder.  Some  have  suggested  that  the  figure  at  the  left,  with 
hands  extended  in  prayer,  symbolizes  the  Church,  which  is  repre- 
sented as  the  Bride  of  Christ  (Eph.  v,  24;  Rev.  xxi,  2  and  9)  ;  but 
it  is  better  to  regard  it  as  one  who  is  giving  thanks  in  the  celebra 
tion  of  the  eucharist. 


'  de  Rossi :  Boma  SoUerranea,  vol.  ii,  Tav.  xv,  No.  2 ;  Tav.  .xvi,  No.  1 ;  Tav.  xviii, 
No.  5.  Becker:  Darstelbmg,  etc.,  ss.  101,  103,  110,  116,  etc.  Northcote  and 
Brownlow:  Plates  16  and  17;  also  vol.  ii,  pp.  71,  sq.  Kraus:  Roma  Sotterranea, 
Taf.  viii.     Roller:    Catacoinbes  de  Borne,  vol.  i,  cliap.  19. 

^  Northcote  and  Brownlow:    Op.  cit,  vol.  ii,  p.  86. 


Fig.  13^ 


Fis.  13^, 


Fig.  13<=. 
Ichthus  Lamps  from  Salona. 


82 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


>.^ 


i 


^^i 


In  recent  years  Africa,  Gaul,  and  the  Dalmatian  coast  have  fur- 
nished a  large  number  of  early  Christian 
monuments  in  the  shape  of  lamps  and 
gems.  Figs,  13=^,  13^,  13°  are  specimens 
of  the  fine  ichthus  lamp  collection  from 
Salona,  in  Dalmatia.  They  may  be  found 
in  the  museums  of  Spalato  and  Zagrab. 
The  fish  occurs  singly  and  in  pairs,  the 
latter  possibly  indicating  a  Christian 
married  couple.  Sometimes  the  fish  are 
associated  with  the  five  loaves,  suggesting 
the  miracle  of  the  loaves  and  fishes,  and 
symbolizing  the  eucharist. 

Fig.  14  represents  a  fresco  from  a 
Christian  catacomb  in  Alexandria,  Egypt, 
the  details  of  which  merit  careful  study.' 
In  the  middle  is  Christ,  the  head  encir- 
cled with  the  nimbus  and  the  name  indi- 
cated by  the  letters  IC,  XC.  Peter, 
nE(T)POC,  is  on  his  right,  and  Andrew, 
A  NAPE  AC,  on  his  left,  bearing  a  plate 
with  two  fishes.  Baskets  with  loaves  are 
on  either  side.  Further  toward  the  right 
appear  the  legends  (TA)  nAIAIA,  servants, 
and  HAriA  MAPIA,  Holy  Mary.  The 
condition  of  the  fresco  here  gives  uncer- 
tainty to  the  interpretation,  but  it  sug- 
gests the  miracle  at  the  marriage  in  Cana. 
At  the  extreme  left  of  our  Lord  persons 
seem  to  be  seated  at  a  meal,  while  above 
is  the  significant  legend,  TAC  EYAOPIAC 
TOY  XY  ECOIONTEC— "Eating  the  bene- 
dictions of  Christ."  In  1  Cor.  x,  16,  the 
same  word,  ev?.oyiag,  is  used  by  Paul  in 
speaking  of  the  communion  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ.  In  Matt,  xvi,  36, 
the  word  used  to  describe  the  giving  of 
thanks  in  the  multiplication  of  loaves, 
evxapt-fyTrjoag,  is  the  same  as  that  used  in 
Matt,  xxvi,  27,  to  consecrate  the  wine 
of  the  holy  sacrament,  while  in  Matt, 
xxvi,    26,   a    derivative    from    the    same 

'  V.  Bull,  di  Arch,  crist.,  ]8tl5. 


J I       3 


¥<^^ 


',^@iwUil^.'-^ 


SYMBOLISM  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART.  83 

word  found  in  the  legend  of  this  fresco  is  used  to  consecrate  the 
bread.  "  And  as  they  were  eating,  Jesus  took  bread,  and  blessed 
{kvXoyiiaaq)  it,"  etc.  The  word  iised  in  Mark  vi,  41,  to  bless  the 
loaves  and  fishes  is  found  in  Mark  xiv,  22,  to  describe  the  con- 
secration of  the  bread  in  the  eucharist.  From  such  comparisons 
of  Scripture,  and  from  the  teachings  of  the  Christian  fathers, 
especially  of  St.  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  the  conclusion  seems  almost 
inevitable  that  in  this  fresco  the  eucharistic  meal  is  represented, 
and  that  the  true  'I^^v?  is  Christ,  upon  whom  the  soul  feeds  by 
faith.' 

That  the  cross    was   widely  known   in  pre-Christian  times   has 
been  most  clearly  shown  by  independent  investigators.^  The  cross  and 
It  is  met  in  a  variety  of   forms'    on   both  continents,   crucifix. 
through  wide  extents  of  territory  and  reaching  through  long  periods 
of  time.     The  interpretations  of  this  symbol  have  been 
almost  numberless.     Indeed,  its  origin  and  significance 
are  often  matters  of  question.     But  the  Christian  cross  can  have  no 
doubtful    import.     It    was   ever  the  emblem  of   blessing   through 
suffering  and  sacrifice,  or  of  a  triumphing  faith,  and  the  Church 
has    cherished  it    as    among   her    most    precious    and    suggestive 
symbols.     For  this  she  had  the  warrant  and  sanction  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures.     It  was  the  magic  form  that  played  an  important  role 
in  the  exegesis  of  the  Christian  fathers.*     To  them  this  ^mong  the 
sacred   symbol   appeared   in   all   nature,    in   the    great  Christian 
circles  of  the   heavens,  in  the  flying  bird,  in  the  ship 
speeding  under  full  sail,  in  the  arms  outstretched  in  prayer,  in  the 

'  V.  Kraus :  Roma  Sotterranea,  ss.  216,  217.  Important  confirmatory  evidence  is 
supplied  by  the  inscriptions,  notably  the  ichthus  inscription  of  Autun,  France.  This 
has  occasioned  an  extended  literature,  v.  Le  Blant:  Inscript.  chret.  de  la  Gavl, 
torn,  i ;   for  literature  v.  Pitra's  Spicilegiuin  Solesm.,  vol.  i. 

*  V.  Stockbauer,  Inman,  Zockler,  Haslam,  Lipsius,  Zestermann,  the  Edinburgh  Re- 
view, for  1870,  etc.     The  literature  is  very  extensive. 

3  Speaking  of  a  temple  in  Lorillard  City,  Central  America,  M.  Dessire  Charnay  says  : 
"  The  roof  of  the  edifice  is  slightly  oblique,  as  in  the  buildings  of  Palenque.  There 
is  a  grand  frieze,  richly  decorated,  the  ornamentation  consisting  of  large  humnn 
figures,  these  accompanied  with  arabesques  or  hieroglyphs.  The  temple  had  then 
five  portals,  -with  hntels  and  jambs  of  sculptured  stone.  Here  we  fltid  bas-reliefs  of 
remarkable  beauty,  and  I  have  made  casts  of  one  of  them,  which  exhibits  two  human 
figures  of  the  Palenque  type,  each  holding  in  the  hand  a  regular  Latin  cross  with 
flowered  arms."     v.  North  American  Review,  No.  308. 

*  However  extravagant  and  even  puerile  in  the  light  of  modern  criticism  may  ap- 
pear the  exegesis  of  some  of  the  Christian  fathers,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  tliat  their 
work  was  inspired  by  a  deep,  pervading  love  of  the  crucified  One,  and  by  a  desire  to 
enter  into  the  mysteries  of  his  expiatory  sufferings,  v.  Zockler  :  Das  Kreutz  Christi, 
S.  134. 


84  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

branches  of  trees,  and  in  a  multitude  of  forms  in  the  vegetable  and 
animal  world.  The  demons  could  not  withstand  its  power,  the 
followers  of  the  crucified  One  were  safe  under  its  protection.' 

In  the  pre-Constantine  period  the  sign  of  the  cross  seems  to  have 
been  in  quite  general  recognition  by  private  Christians.  Tertullian's 
well-known  woi'ds  clearly  show  this.  "  Wherever  we  go,  or  what- 
Sign  of  the  ever  we  attempt,  in  all  coming  in  or  going  out,  at 
cross.  putting  on  our  shoes,  at  the  baths,  at  table,  at  the  time 

of  candle  lighting,  at  bed-time,  in  sitting  down  to  rest ;  whatever 
conversation  employs  us,  we  press  the  forehead  with  the  sign  of  the 
cross."  ^  Doubtless  there  is  noticed  on  the  part  of  the  discii^les  of 
the  crucified  One  a  desire  to  conceal  this  symbol,  which  in  the 
minds  of  the  heathen  was  associated  with  every  thing  humiliating 
and  disgraceful.  In  the  earlier  inscriptions  and  monuments,  there- 
fore, it  is  generally  associated  with  the  monogram  of  Christ.  In 
such  cases  it  symbolized  the  person  of  Christ,  all  that  he  was  in  him- 
self, and  all  that  he  had  done  for  the  world.  There  is,  however, 
early  noticed  an  attempt  to  use  the  cross  indej^endently  of  the 
-^  monogram.  In  such  case  it  often  appears  under  a  form  Avell 
known  to  other  than  Christian  peoples,  namely,  the  so-called  stcas- 
tika  {v.  Fig.  15,  lower  form),  many  examples  of  which  are  found 
Pre-Constan-  on  monuments  very  widely  separated  in  time  and  place. 
tine  cross.  While  their  chronology  is  somewhat  uncertain,  it  seems 
that  under  this  somewhat  obscure  form  the  Christians  of  the  pre- 
Constantine  period  chiefly  represented  the  death  and  ex- 
piatory work  of  the  Saviour.^  But  the  claim  that  there- 
fore this  doctrine  was  derived  from  the  Indian  religions 
lacks  firm  support.  Much  confusion  of  thought  has  ob- 
tained, and  much  misleading  assertion  has  been  indulged 
by  writers  who  would  deny  to  Christianity  all  originality, 
and  would  trace  its  leading  doctrines  to  the  Indian  or  Fig.  15.— 
Its  doctrine  Magian  systems.  While  an  eminently  Budd-  JJJ^^  ^- 
not  of  Indian  histic  symbol,  even  the  sicastika  seems  to  other  christ- 
origin.  have   lacked   sacredness,  and   had  little   sug-  ^^^  symbols. 

gestion  of  religious  doctrine.*     To  regard  the  symbolism  of  these 

1  Prudentius:  GathemerinoR — Hymnus  ante  somnwm.  "Crux  pellit  omne  crimen,'' 
etc. 

^  Be  corona  Militis,  in.     "Ad  omnen  progressum  atque  proraotum,"  etc. 

^  This  is  a  question  on  which  the  archoeologists  are  still  divided.  Some  claim  that 
the  opinion  that  any  form  of  the  cross  was  used  by  the  Christian  Church  prior  to 
the  introduction  of  the  ^  lacks  substantial  foundation. 

*  E.  Thomas :  Ancient  Indian  Weights,  p.  58.  "  Paniui  described  it  as  a  mark  of 
cattle." 


SYMBOLISM  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART.  85 

religions  as  the  suggestive  source  of  the  symbols  found  on  Christian 
monuments  of  the  West,  from  the  second  to  the  eighth  century,  is 
shown  to  be  entirely  unwarranted  as  the  Indian  paleography  and 
inscriptions  are  more  carefully  studied.  The  Indian  inscriptions  are 
found  to  be  of  no  high  antiquity,^  and  are,  therefore,  of  little  avail 
in  a  question  of  this  nature.  Rather  the  indebtedness  of  Buddhism 
to  Christianity  for  the  doctrine  of  a  genuine  Trinity  seems  now  to 
be  established  beyond  reasonable  question,^  while  the  claims  of  the 
priority  and  great  antiquity  of  the  Zoroastrian  or  Maydyasan  tenets, 
resembling  the  Christian  teachings,  have  been  proved  to  lack  firm 
foundation.^ 

The  monogram  of  the  name   of  Christ  appears  f re-  xhe  monogram 
quently  upon  early  Christian  remains.    It  is  found  upon  of  curist. 
burial  monuments,  ancient   lamps,  glass   vessels,  gems,  and    coins 

'"There  is  not.  however,  a  South  Indian  inscription  which  can  be  accepted  aa 
genuine  with  a  date  before  the  fifth  century  of  the  Ciiristian  era,  though  one  or  two 
(without  dates)  exist  which  may  be  safely  attributed  to  tiie  fourth  century  A.  D." 
A.  C.  Burnell:  Elements  of  South  Indian  Paleography  from  the  Fourtli  to  the  Seventeenth 
Century  A.  D.,  2d  ed.,  London,  1878,  p.  12. 

"^  "We  have  been  entertained  occasionally  by  being  told  how  our  Cliristian 
religion  owes  such  and  such  of  its  leading  elements  of  faith  to  Buddhist,  Brahman- 
ical,  or  Zoroastrian  teachings,  but  the  progress  of  knowledge  now  enables  us  to  turn 
the  tables,  and  to  prove  that  our  antagonists  were  the  real  borrowers.  Tlie  Bud- 
dhists have  been  credited  with  priority  over  our  conception  of  the  Trinity,  but  the 
earliest  documents  of  their  creed,  dating  in  250  B.  C,  or  nearly  three  centuries  after 
Nirvana  of  Buddha,  neither  suggest  nor  foreshadow  any  such  combination ;  though 
we  can  well  conceive  how  easily  their  missionaries  may  have  caught  the  infection  of 
the  Aryan  devotion  to  threes.  .  .  .  The  Brahmans,  in  their  turn,  as  has  lately  been  dis- 
covered, appropriated  without  limit  or  scruple,  but  of  course  without  acknowledg- 
ment, the  ideas  aud  the  very  expressions  contained  in  the  New  Testament.  .  .  .  Some 
suspicion  might  possibly  have  been  thrown  upon  the  originality  of  our  received 
versions ;  but  the  question  of  derivation  has  been  compreliensively  examined  and 
determined  in  our  favor  by  Dr.  F.  Lorinser,  whose  verdict  had  already  been  facilitated 
by  the  researches  of  other  eminent  Orientalists.  Burnell:  Op.  cit,  pp.  27,  28. 
.  .  .  "We  can  no  longer  doubt,  therefore,  the  possibility  of  the  hypothesis  that  the 
composer  of  the  Bhagovad-Gita  .  .  .  used  Christian  ideas  and  expressions,  and 
transferred  sayings  of  Ciirist,  related  in  the  Gospels,  to  Krishna."— IndianAntiquary. 
October,  1873.  See  also  among  others,  Lorinser:  Bhagovad-Gitd,  Breslau,  1869, 
Weber:  Indische  Studien,  i,  a.  400.  Lassen:  Indische  AUerthumskunde,  i,  623:  iii, 
398.  Wheeler:  History  of  India,  i,  407.  Kuenen;  Hihhert  Lectures,  1882,  pp. 
223-236. 

^  Among  others  who  have  established  this  statement  may  be  mentioned  Wester- 
gaard,  Breal,  and  Oppert.  The  indebtedness  of  the  East  to  the  Greeks  for  astro- 
nomical principles  has  been  shown  by  Biot  :  Journal  das  Savants,  April,  1859-, 
and  Holtzmau  :    Ueber  den  Ur sprung  des  indischen  T/iierkreises. 

The  earnest  comparative  studies  of  the  Indian  scholars  are  yielding  rich  results, 
and  correcting  many  errors  into  which  some  earlier  writers  have  fallen. 


86 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


16).     The  form  of  this  monogram  is  various — sometimes  very- 
simple,  at   other   times   richly  adorned   with 
wreaths,  palm  branches,  and  gems  (v.  Fig.  17). 
It  is  not  well  settled  at  what  time  it  first  ap- 
pears, but  it  seems  probable  that  it  was  used 
before  its  adoption  by  Constantine  I.  as  a  sign 
upon  the  shields  and  standards  of  his  army.' 
While  the  genuineness  of  some  monuments  cited  in  confirmation  of 
this  opinion  may  be  questioned,  still  little  doubt  can 
reasonably  be  entertained  respecting  its  use  during  the 
'^/x.r*        third  century.     Fig.  18  represents  the   earliest  known 


Fig.  16.— Monogram  on  coin 
of  Authemius,  A.D.  467. 


Fig.  18.— Monogram  of  Christ  on  an  arcosolium  of  San  Calisto,  Rome. 

example  in  the  Catacomb  of  San  Calisto.  This  mono- 
gram has  been  most  noted  from  the  fact  that  it  largely- 
displaced  the  eagle  on  the  standards  of  Rome  {v.  Figs. 
6  and  7).  Like  many  other  events  in  the  life  and  reign 
of  Constantine  the  Great,  the  cause  and  circumstances 
of  its  adoption  are  variously  explained.  Whether  through 
a  miraculous  appearance  of  Christ,  or  a  dream,  or  a  vision 
near  sunset,  or  through  some  other  means,^  the  fact  of 


t  '  V.  Ludwic  Jeep  :  Zur  Geschichte  Constaniins  des  Grossen. 

pVn'C  2  Among  the  defenders  of  the  miraculous  appearance  of  Christ  to 

"^  Constantine  are  the  older  historians,  and  Guericke,  Bollinger,  Alzog, 

\/^  and  J.   H.  Newman,  among  modern  writers.     For  an  optical  illusion 

'/A.  or    natural  phenomenon,  with   which  may   have    been    connected  a 

+  prophetic  dream,  argue  Augusti.  Schroeckh,  Mosheim,  Neander, 
Gieseler,  Niedner,  SchafE.  Stanley,  Heiuichen,  Koelling,  Mozley,  and 
others.  Arnold,  Tliomasius,  Lardner,  Gibbon,  Waddington,  and 
others  regard  it  either  as  a  fable  or  a  pious  fraud.  This  last  view  seems  to  be 
the  least  consistent  with  the  authorities,  with  the  character  of  Constantine,  and 
with  the  events  conceded!}^  flowing  from  this  circumstance. 


SYMBOLISM  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


87 


the  choice  of  this  symbol  cannot  be  doubted,  since  from  this  time  it 
plays  a  most  important  part  on  the  coins  of  the  empire,  and  on  the 
monuments  of  the  Church. 

It  has  been  universally  conceded  that  these  are  the  initial  letters 
of  the  name  of  Christ,'  and  that  the  monogram  is  prima  facie 
evidence  of  the  Christian  character  of  the  monuments  on  which 
it  appears.  Other  meanings  must  be  shown  by  positive  proof. 
There  is  no  sufficient  evidence  that  the  Christians  derived  this 
from  the  crux  ansata  which  was  quite  common  among  the 
Egyptians. 

After  the  wide  use  of  the  -^  upon  the  shields  and  standards 
of  the  army  and  upon  the  coins  of  the  empire,  the  Church 
attached  to  it  a  new  and  deeper  significance.  Hence-  jtg  jater  sig- 
forth  the  conquering,  all-prevailing  Name  was  prom-  niflcance. 
inent  in  their  thought.  Fig.  19  shows  the  ^  associated  with 
palm  branches  and  the  celebrated 
motto,  IN  SIGNO.  The  transition  from 
the  thought  of  humiliation  and  suffer- 
ing to  that  of  authority  and  power 
was  but  natural.  The  art  of  the 
Church  reveals  this  change.  The  mon- 
ogram appears  surrounded  with  gar- 
lands (Fig.  20),  and  in  places  of  honor 
and  dominion.  Now  is  noticed  the  be- 
ginning of  that  opinion  respecting  the  person  and  office  of  Christ 
which  afterward  clothed  him  with  the  attributes 
of  the  severe  and  awe-inspiring  Judge,  and  later 
furnished  the  conditions  of  the  rapid  growth  of 
Mariolatry. 

The  tradition  of  the  finding  of  the  true  cross  by 

Fir.  20.— Tbe  Helena,  the  mother  of   Constantine,  rests 

monogram       of  ,  <•  ^    ,•         ^^  4-1. 

Christ  encircled  01^  even  less  secure  loundation  than  the 
by  a  wreath.  vision  of  the  cross  by  the  emperor  himself. 
While,  however,  the  acceptance  of  the  ^  symbol  by  the  em- 
pire was  comparatively  harmless,  and  even  contributed  to  exalt  the 
name  and  office  of  the  Saviour,  without  danger  of  idolatiy,  the 
traditional  discovery  of  the  cross  by  Helena  proved  the  occasion  of 
most  hurtful  superstitions  which  fostered  the  worship  of  relics 
and  suggested  the  religious  pilgrimages  of  the  following  centuries. 
The  relation  of  these  pilgrimages  to  the  Crusades  has  often  been 
traced  by  historians. 

'  The  upright  ^  is  the  oldest  and  most  frequently  recurring  form  of  this 
monotrram. 


Fig.  19.— The  Constantlnlan  mono- 
gram, with  palm  branches  and  the 
legend,  IN  SIGNQ. 


The  legend  of 
finding  the 
true  cross. 


88 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


The  Tau  or  patibulaiy  (sometimes  called  Egyptian)  cross  is 
TheTauorpa-  found  in  the  catacomb  of  San  Calisto,  at  Rome,  prob- 
tibuiary  cross,  ably  as  early  as  the  third  century.'  In  such  cases  it 
is  not  easy  to  discover  the  primary  reference.  By  some  it  is 
regarded  as  chiefly  representative  of  the  idea  prevalent  among 
the  Egyptians,  namely,  the  source  of  life,  and 
of  hope  of  the  world  to  come;  to  others  (Did- 
ron,  et  al.),  it  seems  to  connect  with  events  of 
the  Hebrew  history,  as  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac, 
and  the  brazen  serpent  in  the  wilderness — 
thus  becoming  an  Old  Testament  type;  while 
still  others  insist  that  it  is  the  deliberately 
chosen  symbol  of  the  person  and  proj^itiatory 
work  of  Christ."  Sometimes  the  form  of  the 
Fig.  21.  — A  jeweled  cross  cross  is  met  in  the  mosaics,  richly  jeweled, 
from  Ravenna.  having   the   firmament,   thickly  strewn    with 

stars,  for  a  background,  as  in  Fig.  21,  which  is  from  SS.  Nazario  e 
Celso,  Ravenna. 

Alone,  as  well  as  frequently  associated  with  the  monogram  of  Christ 
A  i2  monu-  ^^^  other  Christian  symbols,  the  A  i2  symbol  aj)pears  in 
ments.  Italy  from  about  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century,  and  in 

Gaul,  in  connection  with  dated  inscriptions:  from  A.  D.  377  to  A.  D. 
547.^  This  manifestly  refers  to  Rev.  i,  8,  "I  am  Alpha  and  Omega, 
the  beginning  and  the  ending,  saith  the  Lord,  which  is  and  which  was 
and  which  is  to  come,  the  Almighty."  By  comparing  Isa.  xliv,  6,  with 
Rev.  i,  17,  18,  also  xxii,  13,  it  appears  that  these  letters  refer  to 
One  who,  being  of  like  essence  with  God,  stands  at  the  beginning 
as  at  the  end  of  all  being,  who  rules  all  development,  who  is  the 
centre  and  goal  of  human  history,  and  who  is  Lord  of  the  Church  : 
"  Jesus  Christ  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  forever  "  (Heb. 
xiii,  8). 

The  monuments  upon  which  these  letters  appear  are  quite  numer- 
ous; from  their  associations  they  aid  in  the  interpretation  of  symbols 
that  were  otherwise  obscure.*    Connected  with  the  monogram  en- 


'  V.  de  Rossi:  Bullett.  Arch,  crist.,   1863. 

^  The  cross  and  the  fish  are  found  on  early  Christian  monuments  in  Scotland. 
From  its  peculiar  associations,  the  latter  is  believed  to  have  been  an  object  of  wor- 
ship. V.  Forbes  Leslie:  The  Early  Races  of  Scotland  and  their  Monuments.  Edinburgh, 
2  vols.,  1876. 

3  At  Rome  from  A.  D.  355  or  360  to  509;  in  Gaul  from  A.  D.  377  to  547.  De 
Rossi:  Inscr.  christ.  Rom.,  Nos.  127,  143,  491.  Boeckh:  Liscr.  Cor.  Grcec,  Nos. 
412,  55.     LeBlant:  Manuel  d'  Epigr.  chret.,  p.  29. 

*  Dr.  Nikolaus  Miiller :  A  i2.  Herzog  und  Plitt,  Real-Ency.  fiir  Prot.  Theologic.  3d 
edition.     1897. 


SYMBOLISM  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


89 


closed  in  a  circle  (Fig.  22),  the  A  i2  suggests  the  eternity  of  the 
person  thus  symbolized.  When  associated  with  the 
H-P,  within  the  equilateral  triangle  (Fig.  23),  it 
awakens  in  some  the  thought  of  the  Trinity.  When 
found  on  burial  monuments  with  the  Constantinian 
monogram,  the  doves,  and  the  olive  branches  (Fig,  ^j  ^2  — iiie  a  ii 
24),  the  victory  and  present  fruition  of  the  departed  with  monogram  in 
through  Him  who  is  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the  *^^^^^' 
resurrection  and  the  life,  are  significantly  suggested.*  The  pre- 
sumption is  strong  that  all  monuments  on  which  it  is 
found  are  of  Christian  origin,  and  the  reference  to 
the  person  and  nature  of  Christ  is  unquestioned. 

The  Church  was  not  slow  to  adopt  the  beautiful 
This  was  so  manifestly 
in  triangle.  sanctioned  by  the  words  of  Christ  himself 

(John   XV,    1-8)    that    the    most   iconoclastic  spirit  could 
The  lessons  which 


Fig.  23.— Mon-  i     i      p  .  i 

ogram  and  A  i2  Symbol  ot  the  Vine 


The  vine. 


take 


XV, 

offence  at  its  use. 

it  conveyed  were  so  vital  and  precious 
that   its  place  among  the  wall  deco- 
rations   of    the   oldest    catacombs  at 
Rome   seems   eminently  fitting.     To 
distinguish    the    symbolic    from   the 
merely  decorative  use  is  not  always  Fig.  24.— a  O  with  doves  and  mono- 
easy  ;  yet  that  the  early  Christians  re-       ^'^'^-   ^^'^  ^  ^'^^^^  monument. 
garded  the  vigorous  vine,  whose  branches  were  laden  with  luscious 
fruit,  as  symbolic  of  the  Saviour  and  of  the  disciples  who  abide  in 
him  cannot  once  be  doubted.'' 

Nor  should  too  much  stress  be  laid  upon  the  fact  that  ver}'  similar 
scenes  are  depicted  upon  heathen  monuments,  where  ^j^^^  symbol 
the  manifest  reference  is  to  Bacchus  and  his  worship,  need  not  have 
This  similarity  of  representation  cannot  safely  be  re- 
garded as  proof  that  a  like  truth  was  designed  to  be  thus  symbol- 
ized ;  much  less  can  the  derivation  of  the  Christian  symbol  from 
the  pagan  mythology  be  hence  inferred.  So  common  was  it  among 
ancient  peoples  to  represent  life,  joy,  and  abundance  under  the 
symbol  of  the  vine  and  its  products  that  each  may  reasonably  be 


'  A  class  of  archffiologists  denies  all  symbolical  character  to  the  circle,  the  triangle, 
the  doves,  and  the  olive  branches  in  this  class  of  monuments,  and  regards  them  as 
simply  decorative.  While  this  view  seems  at  times  the  most  natural  and  just,  in 
some  instances  it  is  difficult  to  harmonize  it  with  all  the  attendant  conditions. 

^  For  illustrations,  see  Figures  1,  2.  which  are  chiefly  decorative,  yet  whose 
association  with  numerous  religious  subjects  might  also  suggest  a  sj-mbolic 
character. 


90  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CPIRISTIAN  ART. 

regarded  as  an  independent  origination,  and  its  teaching  distinc- 
tive.' 

The  beautiful  symbol  of  the  Good  Shepherd  is  among  the  earliest 
The  Good  and  most  frequent  of  the  entire  Christian  cycle.  Like 
Shepherd.  ^]^Q  yine,  it  had  the  sanction  of  Christ  himself  (John  x, 
11,  19),  and  was,  therefore,  the  source  of  little  apprehension  to  the 
Christian  fathers  in  their  efforts  to  guard  the  early  Church  against 
the  idolatrous  tendencies  of  much  of  the  heathen  plastic  art. 

The  opinion  held  by  some  archaeologists,  that  Christianity  had 
no  creative  art  power,  but  borrowed  every  thing  from  the  heathen 
world,^  would  regard  this  symbol  as  immediately  suggested  by  like 
representations  on  pagan  monuments.  That  the  ram-bearing  Mer- 
cury' has  some  general  resemblance  to  the  Good  Shepherd  of  the 
Christian  cycle  has  often  been  remarked.  Also  a  satyr  bearing  a 
goat  or  sheep  upon  his  shoulders  suggests  a  similar  office  work. 
The  frescos  of  Herculaneum,  and  some  burial  monuments,  clearly  of 
heathen  origin,  in  which  the  seasons  are  depicted,  contain  like  rep- 
resentations. Nor  need  this  be  regarded  as  at  all  surprising  when 
Heathen  coun-  it  is  remembered  what  a  prominent  place  the  sheep  and 
terpart.  the  shepherd  held  in  the  thought  of  ancient  peoples. 

To  each  the  shepherd's  care  for  the  flock  would  be  the  most  readily 
suggested  symbol  of  tenderest  solicitude  and  secure  protection. 
The  Hebrew  Scriptures  abound  in  references  to  the  shepherd  and 
his  flock  (Psa.  xxiii  ;  Isa.  xl;  Jer.  xxiii;  Ezek.  xxxiv,  et  al.).  To  a 
pastoral  people,  acquainted  with  the  dangers  incident  to  this  mode 
Common  to  an-  of  life?  the  thought  of  the  shepherd,  to  guide  and  defend, 
cient  peoples,  must  have  been  among  the  most  natural  and  precious. 
While,  therefore,  it  is  true  that  very  similar  rej^resentations  of 
the  relation   of   the  shepherd  to  the   sheep   are  common  to  both 

'  Some  writers  on  comparative  religion  and  comparative  mythology  would  erro- 
neously teach  that  because  of  great  similarity  in  the  beliefs  or  myths  of  two  different 
peoples,  therefore  the  one  must  be  a  derivation  from  the  other,  or  both  must  root  in 
some  more  ancient  belief;  whereas,  each  may  be  entirely  independent  of  the  other, 
and  may  be  indicative  of  a  like  stage  of  spiritual  or  religious  development.  "  I 
hardly  suppose  that  the  most  ardent  hunters  after  histories  which  tell  of  the  loves  of 
the  sun  and  the  dawn  would  maintain  that  it  was  from  the  observation  of  the  sun 
and  the  dawn  that  mankind  first  gained  its  idea  of  two  lovers."  Keary:  Outlines  of 
Primitive  Belief,  Preface,  x. 

^  Very  emphatically,  Raoul-Rochette :  Discours  sur  les  types  imitatifs  qui  constituent 
Part  du  Christianisme.  Paris,  1834.  Tableau  des  Catacombes.  Paris,  1837.  Trois 
Memoirs  sur  les  antiquites  chretiennes.     Paris,  1839. 

^  The  epithet,  Kriophorus,  was  applied  to  Hermes  from  his  driving  away  a  pesti- 
lence from  the  town  of  Tanagra,  in  Boeotia,  by  carrying  a  ram  on  his  shoulders  round 
the  walls.  He  is  to  be  regarded,  tlierefore,  as  the  guardian  against  pestilence  rather 
than  as  the  god  of  herds,     v.  C.  J.  Hemans :  in  Academy,  1872,  p.  147. 


SYMBOLISM  OP  CHRISTIAN  ART.  91 

heathen  and  Christian  monuments,  it  would  be  illogical  to 
infer  that  the  heathen  symbol  was  the  original,  and  the  Christian 
the  imitation.  It  is  manifest  that  the  Christian  Church  The  Christian 
used  the  art  forms  which  were  at  hand:  nevertheless   '*y™'>o'  Q"' 

'  necessarily  de- 

it   would  be  misleading   thence   to   conclude  that  the  rived. 

motive  or  spirit  of  the  Christian  monuments  was  like  to  or 
derived  from  the  prevalent  heathen  thought  or  mythology.  At 
times  the  teaching  is  directly  contradictory  of  Christian  thought. 
The  student  needs  only  to  be  cautioned  against  the  Needed  cau- 
hasty  inference  that  all  monumental  representations  Uoi- 
of  the  relation  of  the  shepherd  to  the  sheep  are  necessarily  of 
Christian  origin  and  character.  The  sound  principle  here  to  be 
observed  is  that  something  more  than  the  simple  form  is  nec- 
essary ;  that  some  additional  marks  or  confirmatory  circumstances 
must  aid  in  the  classification.  Fortunately  such  evidence  confirmatory 
is  frequently  at  hand.  The  Good  Shepherd  monuments  evidence. 
often  bear  other  distinctive  Christian  symbols,  as  the  fish,  the  ^^ 
the  A  i2,  or  these  combined  (u.  Fig.  12),  while  in  other  cases  the 
figure  and  the  associated  inscription  are  mutually  helpful  in  the 
interpretation.  In  any  case,  to  the  early  Church  this  figure  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  suggested  all  those  beautiful  and  consolatory  offices 
which  Christ's  own  words  so  clearly  taught  (John  x,  11-19). 
Hence  it  is  not  a  figure  of  the  Good  Shepherd  alone  which  is  met, 
but  this  is  sometimes  accompanied  with  the  badges  of  his  office,  the 
staff,  the  shepherd's  pipe,  etc.  (v.  Fig.  38).  While  it  is  easy  to 
become  bewildered  by  a  wild  and  extravagant  interpretation  of 
these  various  accessories,  the  teaching  of  the  central  figure  is  mani- 
fest to  every  looker-on.^ 

Other  symbols  of  Christ  and  his  work  are  occasionally  met  on  the 
monuments,   as    Orpheus,   noticed    elsewhere;   the  lion,  which  was 

usually  understood  as  a   symbol  of  power  and  might; 

-.ir-i  1  1        •  1  Pi-i-^  other  symbols, 

and  the  fisher,  who  takes  into  the  net  of    his  kingdom 

the  fishes  that  are  purified  in  the  waters  of  baptism. 

§  3.   The  disciples  and  the  Church. 

The  followers  of  Christ,  whose  representations  have  here  been 
traced,  delighted  to  use  a  like  symbolism  to  express  their  own  rela- 
tions to  Him,   "  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life,"   as       ^     ^ 

.  .  ,         ,        •       1        -•  11  The  dove, 

well  as  their  associations  with  each  other  m  the  fellow- 
ship of   love   and  faith.     The   dove  is  among   the   most  frequent 

*  In  ^iude  sur  VMstoire  des  sarcophages  Chretiens  (Paris,  1885),  Grousset  gives  more 
than  forty  examples  of  the  Good  Sliepherd  found  on  the  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
five  sarcophagi  in  Eome  outside  of  the  Lateran  Museum,  which  lie  describes. 


92  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

Christian  symbols  ;  it  is  of  especial  significance  when  found  upon 
burial  monuments.  It  usually  expresses  the  innocence  and  purity 
of  the  persons  thus  commemorated.  "  Hai'mless  as  doves "  may 
have  been  in  the  mind  of  those  who  laid  away  the  faithful  with 
the  sweet  expectation  that  their  Lord  would  very  soon  awaken 
them  from  their  temporary  slumber  to  enter  upon  the  fruitions 
of  his  own  kingdom.  Here,  too,  caution  is  necessary  to  distin- 
guish between  symbolism  and  simple  decoration.  Doubtless  some 
of  the  figures  of  the  dove,  and  certainly  those  of  other  birds,  are 
used  upon  Christian  monuments  as  mere  aids  to  ornamentation, 
and  as  subjects  to  complete  the  artistic  balancing  of  a  picture 
(see  Fig.  30).  When  the  dove  bears  in  the  beak  a  palm  or  olive 
branch,  it  may  justly  be  regarded  as  a  symbol  of  overcoming 
victory,  and  expectation  of  eternal  life  (Fig.  24).  Examples  of 
this  are  numerous,  and  it  is  generally  agreed  that  they  are  of  deep 
doctrinal  significance.  At  Rome,  they  do  not  appear  before  the 
last  half  of  the  third  century,  and  disappear,  for  the  most  part, 
after  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixth.  In  Gaul  this  symbol,  as  most 
others,  does  not  appear  until  nearly  a  century  later,  and  continues  a 
century  longer  than  in  Rome.* 

The  fish,  which  we  have  shown  to  be  of  deepest  import  when 

applied  to  Christ,  is  also  used  to  represent  his  disciples. 

Probably,  as  suggested  by  Tertullian,"  the  water  and 
rite  of  baptism  were  prominently  in  their  thought,  while  secondary 
reference  may  have  been  had  to  the  parable  of  the  net,  or  to  the 
command  of  Christ  to  Peter  and  Andrew — "  Follow  me  and  I  will 
make  you  fishers  of  men  "  (Matt,  iv,  18,  19). 

Corresponding  to  the  symbol  of  the  Good  Shepherd  is  that  of  the 
The  sheep  and  sheep  or  lambs,  representing  Christ's  disciples.  It  is 
lambs.  sometimes  found  on  the  mural  paintings  of  the  cata- 

combs, and  quite  frequently  on  Christian  sarcophagi  and  in  mosaics. 
They  are  sometimes  cared  for  by  the  Good  Shepherd,  who  leads 
them  into  green  pastures,  sometimes  they  are  grouped  around  him 
in  the  attitude  of  earnest  attention  to  hear  the  Master's  teaching. 
In  the  mosaics  the  twelve  apostles  sometimes  appear  under  the 
symbol  of  sheep,  who  stand  six  on  either  side  of  the  Saviour  to 
"hear  his  voice"  (Fig.  43).  Occasionally  the  hart,  drinking  of 
the  living  waters,  takes  the  place  of  the  sheep  in  the  symbolic  rep- 
resentation of  the  disciples,  probably  with  reference  to  Psa.  xlii,  1. 

1  De  Rossi:  Inscript.  christ.  Rom.,  t.  i,  Nos.  10,  923,  991.  Le  Blant :  Inscript 
chret.  de  la  Gaule,  Nos.  7,  561. 

2  de  bapt,  c.  1. 


SYMBOLISM  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART.  93 

On  several  monuments  the   Church  is  found  symbolized  by  a  ship 
under  full  sail.     On  the  sail  sometimes  appears  a  second 
symbol,  as  the  dove,  which  seems  to  teach  that  in  the  ^  ^  '^' 

perilous  voyage  of  life  the  ship  of  the  Church,  under  the  care  of  its 
heavenly  Pilot,  affords  the  only  secure  refuge.  Also  in  several  in- 
stances a  rude  box  represents  the  ark  of  Noah,  from  which  the  dove 
goes  forth  on  the  waste  of  waters,  or  is  returning  bearing  the  olive 
branch  in  its  beak.  This  was  a  favorite  symbol,  to  which  the 
Christian  fathers  refer  to  teach  in  most  impressive  way  the  saving 
power  of  the  Church.' 

§  4.  Other  symbols. 

Of  the  many  other  symbols  we  have  space  to  refer  to  but  few. 
The  anchor  is  often  found  upon  coins  and  geras,  some- 
times associated  with  the  -^^  at  other  times  in  connec- 
tion with  the  fish,  the  Good  Shepherd,  etc.  (Fig.  12).     Its  primary 
reference  is  probably  to  Heb.  vi,  19,  20;  sometimes  the  meaning  is 
very  obscure. 

The  palm  tree  and  the  palm  branch  are  also  of  frequent  occur- 
rence on  the  burial  monuments,  on  lamps,  on  glasses,  on 
gems,  and  in  the  mosaics.  These  were  also  common  to  and  the  paim 
pagan  monuments,  and  were  not  unfamiliar  to  the  Jews. 
In  the  use  of  this  symbol  upon  the  burial  monuments  of  Christians 
the  px'imary  reference  seems  to  be  to  Rev.  vii,  9,  and  plainly  indi- 
cates that  the  deceased  has  triumphed  over  death  and  the  grave 
through  faith  in  Him  who  declared  himself  "  the  Resurrection  and 
the  Life  "  (John  xi,  2). 

Of  like  import  is  the  crown,  which  is  of  less  frequent  occurrence. 
The  lyre  is  usually  the  symbol  of  pi-aise  or  of  abundant  The  crown, 
rejoicing.  The  peacock  sometimes  symbolizes  immor-  |f ^^e  nTx!' and 
tality,  in  like  manner  as  does  the  phenix  the  resurrection  serpent. 
and  the  life  eternal.  The  serpent  is  also  met  on  Christian  monu- 
ments. It  may  be  connected  with  representations  of  our  first  parents 
as  a  tempter  to  sin  ;  or  with  the  brazen  serpent  in  the  wilderness  ; 
or  occasionally  it  seems  to  be  used  as  a  symbol  of  wise  spiritual  dis- 
cernment. The  latter  is  especially  true  of  some  gems  of  the  Gnostic 
sects.  We  shall  examine  in  another  connection  the  cycle  of  Old 
Testamant  scenes,  events  from  the  history  of  Moses,  Jonah,  Daniel, 
the  three  Hebrew  worthies,  etc.,  which  were  regarded  as  types  or 
prophecies  of  events  under  the  new  dispensation. 

^  TertuWlan:  debaptisnio,  cc.  8,  \2.     Cyprian:  Epistoke,  J^oa.  69,  li.      Justin  Mar- 
tyr: Dialogus  cum  Try  phone,  c.  138. 


94  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

Occasionally  are  met  what  have  been  regarded  as  caricatures  of 
The  carica-  the  Christian  religion.  Their  fewness,  and  the  lack  of 
tures of  Christ-   ^id  to  their  interpretation  in  the  contemporary  litera- 

ian  doctrine.  .  ,  ,  ,     .         .       .  „ 

tare,  cause  uncertainty  with  respect  to  their  signiii- 
cance.  One  of  the  most  interesting  is  the  graffito  discovered  in 
1856  amid  the  ruins  of  the  palace  of  the  Coesars,  on  the  southwest 
slope  of  the  Palatine  Hill.'  .It  was  one  of  many  graffiti  scratched 
upon  the  walls  of  a  number  of  rooms  that  had  been  excavated  in 
this  part  of  the  Palatine.  Becker's  conclusion  is  that  this  one 
originated  in  the  second  quarter  of  the  second  century,  through  the 
playfulness  of  some  pagan  scholar  in  the  imperial  Pedagogium. 
Fig.  25  shows  the  rudeness  of  the  drawing  and  the  barbarousness 
of  the  Greek  inscription.  The  usual  deciphering  of  the  characters  is 
AAESAMENOC  CEBETE  (oilSerai)  OEON,  and  the  translation  has 
been  suggested,  "  Alexamenus  worships  (his)  God."  Careful  com- 
parative study  has  made  it  probable  that  this  was  scratched  on  the 
wall  of  a  school-room  by  a  heathen  pupil  to  caricature  the  god 
to  whom  his  Christian  fellow  pupil  was  offering  worship.  In 
opposition  to  Becker,  Garrucci  attributes  this  work  to  the  early 
part  of  the  third  century,  for  the  reason  (among  others)  that  just 
at  this  time  the  Christians  were  charged  with  worshipping  the 
head  of  an  ass,  as  shown  by  the  answer  of  Tertullian.  In  his 
Apologeticus^  the  recognition  of  the  charge  is  clear  and  explicit, 
and  his  answer  not  less  so.  His  attempt  to  account  for  this 
misunderstanding,  from  the  heathen  mind  confounding  the  Jewish 
with  the  Christian  religion,  argues  the  prevalence  of  the  calumny, 
and  may  account  for  the  existence  of  the  caricatures.  On  the 
other  hand,  however,  it  is  very  noteworth}^  that  amidst  all  the 
strange  syncretism  prevalent  in  Rome  during  the  first  three  Christ- 
ian centuries  no  account  is  left  of  the  worship  of  a  god  with  the 
head  of  an  ass,  least  of  all  of  one  who  was  crucified.  Yet  here 
is  almost  the  oldest  surviving  representation  of  the  most  sacred 
and  significant  event  in  the  life  of  Christ,  the  crucifixion,  under 
an  offensive  caricature  ;  thus  showing  that  the  description  of  the 

'  For  discussions  of  the  chronology,  location,  and  significance  of  this  grafiBto,  v. 
Garrucci:  11  Crocifisso  graffito  in  casa  dei  Cesari  Roma.  1857.  Becker:  Das  Spott 
Crucifix  der  roynischen  Kaiserpalaste.  Breslau,  1866.  Kraus:  Das  Spott- Orucifix  vom 
Palatin  und  ein  neuendektea  Graffito.  Freiburg,  1872.  Also  v.  King:  The  Gnostics 
and  their  Remains,  Ancient  and  Modern,  p.  230.  He  says:  "It  represents  the  same 
jackal-headed  man  (Anubis),  holding  in  front  of  him  a  Latin  cross  with  his  out- 
stretched hands,  and  standing  on  a  pedestal ;  in  front  his  worshipper,  who  .  .  .  has 
expressed  the  object  of  his  handiwork  by  the  inscription,  'Alexamenos  adores  his  God:' 
in  reality  the  work  of  some  devout  but  illiterate  Gnostic."  '■'  1.  i,  c.  xvi. 


SYMBOLISM  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


95 


prophet  was  most  appropriate  :  "he  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness, 
and  when  we  shall  see  him  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire 
him  "  (Isa.  liii,  2). 


Fig.  25.— Caricature  of  Christ.    A  pagan  graffito  probably  of  tbe  second  century.    Palace  of  the 

Cffisars,  Rome. 

Another  example  of  the  same  style  of  caricature  is  seen  in 
Fig.  26,  This  is  the  representation  on  an  antique  gem  which  was 
first  published  in  the  seventeenth  century.  An  almost  exact  descri})- 
tion  of  it  is  found  in  Tertullian's  writings.'  It  is  a  figure  clad  in 
the  Roman  toga,  in  an  erect  position,  but  with  the  head  of  an  as?. 
The  fore  leg  is  extended  as  in  the  attitude  of  teaching,  while  before 
it  are  two  figures,  one  standing  the  other  sitting,  in  the  posture  of 
attentive    listeners.*     Tertullian    declares    that    under   this   repre- 

'  Apnlogeticus,  c.  xvi ;  ad  nationes,  1.  i,  c.  xiv.  and  1.  ii,  c.  xi. 
'  The  genuineness  of  this  gem  has  been  questioned. 


96 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


sentation  was  found  the  inscription — "  Deus  Christianoruni  ONO- 
KOIHTHS."  Many  translations  of  this  have 
been  suggested,  but  some  of  the  best  lexi- 
cographers have  preferred  "  an  ass  of  a  priest." 
A  like  mention  of  this  charge  against  the 
Christians  is  met  in  Minucius  Felix.'  "The 
heathen  attribute  to  them  (the  Christians) 
the  folly  of  regarding  the  head  of  an  ass  a 
sacred  thing."  While  resenting  such  folly 
and  wickedness,  in  common  with  Tertullian, 
he  makes  the  charge  of  like  folly  against 
the  heathen,  who  have  incorporated  into  their 
cultus  things  equally  puerile  and  monstrous. 

Fig.— 26.   From  an  antique       „,  <•  •  ^i        r>  ^i 

gem.  Supposed  to  be  a  cari-  The  copy  of  a  com  apparently  from  the 
cature  of  tiie  teaching  Christ,  time  of  Alexander  the  Great  (Fig.  27)  con- 
tains another  enigma  which  has  not  been  satisfactorily  solved.     The 

head  of  Alexander  on  one  side, 
and  an  ass  with  its  foal  on  the 
other,  are  the  strange  figures  here 
met.  But  the  inscription,  DN  IHY 
XPS  DEI  FILIYS,  is  still  more 
ciirious,  and  has  divided  the  ar- 

Fig.  27.— Coin  of  Alexander  the  Great,  an  ass    chfBologistS    with    respect    tO    its 
and  its  foal.  /.  i     •       •£      a*        2 

reference  and  signiiication."' 
This  worship  of  the  figure  of  an  ass  is  obscure  in  its  origin,  and 
the  cause  of  this  misconception  of  the  heathen  of  the  third  century, 
respecting  the  nature  of  the  Christan  religion,  is  not  well  understood. 
Nevertheless  occasional  references  to  this  animal  and  its  worship  are 
met  from  time  to  time  in  the  writings  of  the  Christian  fathers, 

'  Odavius,  cc.  ix  and  xxviii. 

2  Northcote  and  Brownlow:  Roma  Soiterranea,  vol.  ii,  pp.  351,  352.  These 
authors  suggest  the  translation,  "  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Son  of  God."  May  not 
this  be  another  of  the  many  examples  of  the  syncretism  of  pagan  and  Christian 
thought? 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS.  97 


CHAPTER  IV. 
EARLY   CHRISTIAN   PAINTINGS   AND   MOSAICS. 

The  earliest  Christian  paintings  which  have  been  preserved  to 
our  day  were  found  in  tlie  Roman  catacombs.  Their  chronology 
is  still  unsettled.  While  de  Rossi  {v.  p.  29)  finds  j-a^jj^^j  p^^j^. 
sufficient  reason  to  refer  some  of  them  to  the  first,  ings  in  the 
or  early  part  of  the  second  century,  Parker,  Monim-  catacombs. 
sen,  and  others  {v.  p.  30,  note)  believe  that  they  are  of  later 
origin.  The  evidences  of  an  early  origin  become  more  con- 
vincing as  the  comparative  studies  are  more  thorough  and  exten- 
sive. These  paintings  were  at  first  chiefly  decorative.  They  were 
designed  to  add  to  the  cheerfulness  of  the  subterranean  rooms 
whose  walls  they  adorn,  which  were  sometimes  places  of  assembly 
for  Christians  in  times  of  persecution.' 

On  careful  comparison  of  these  with  the  contemporary  frescos 
of  heathen  origin,  a  like  artistic  spirit  is  seen  to  be  similarity  of 
common  to  both.  The  ceilings  in  Santa  Domitilla  ^gat^eu'paint- 
at  Rome,  and  in  the  vestibule  to  the  first  catacomb  ing. 
of  San  Gennaro  dei  Poveri  in  Naples,  are  divided  into  har- 
moniously balanced  parts,  while  some  of  the  decorations  can 
only  with  greatest  care  be  distinguished  from  the  heathen  mural 
pictures  of  the  same  age  (v.  Fig,  28).^  In  each  is  manifested 
a  like  love  of  nature  in  representations  of  the  seasons,  scenes 
from  reaping  and  from  the  vintage,  dolphins,  birds,  flowers,  etc. 
{v.  Figs.  I,  2).  The  earliest  Christian  frescos  are,  however, 
generally  wanting  in  architectural  perspective,  as  this  is  seen  in 
the  Pompeian  decorations,  and  are  usually  less  artistic  in  technical 
execution.^ 

Probably  the  artisans  in  the  catacombs  were  generally  unskilled, 
nor  did  they  attempt  to  execute  these  paintings  with  perfection  of 

iWilpert:  Die  Katakomben  Gemaelde  und  Hire  alien  Kopien.  Freiburg,  1891. 
These  researches  of  Wilpert  have  for  the  first  time  strongly  established  how  unsafe 
in  many  points  is  the  artistic  tradition  concerning  the  catacomb  pictures,  and  how,  as 
in  Garucci's  Corpus,  not  to  speak  of  other  reproductions,  remarkable  errors  have  been 
transmitted. 

"Schultze:  Die  Katakomhcn,  etc.,  s.  12,  and  plate  iv. 

3Reber:  Hht.  of  Medkeval  Art.     New  York,  1887.     pp.  73,  74. 


98  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

detail.  The  frescos  were  manifestly  painted  rapidly  in  broad,  full 
line,  since  in  dimly  lighted  subterranean  rooms  minute  details 
could  be  of  but  slender  utility.  This  may  suggest  a  reason  for 
the  difference  in  the  artistic  character  of  the  frescos  of  Christ- 
ian and  pagan  origin,  since  the  latter  were  used  to  adorn  rooms 
where  light  was  abundant,  and  where  the  festive  character  of 
many  of  the  subjects  demanded  more  careful  handling.  Pains- 
taking study  of  models  seems  to  have  been  seldom  practiced, 
since  it  is  hardly  possible  to  suppose  that  in  the  early  part  of 
the  second  century  the  Church  had  a  school  of  professionally 
trained  artists.  Nevertheless,  the  narrowness  of  the  cycle  of 
artistic  subjects  and  their  frequent  repetition  might  secure  read- 
iness of  execution,  and  a  fair  degree  of  ease  and  vigor  of  treat- 
ment. 

The  introduction  of  symbolism  was  of  somewhat  later  date.  Their 
more  distinctively  Christian  character  then  first  appears.  The  merely 
decorative  and  pleasing  then  assumes  a  deeper  significance,  the 
paintings  become  a  means  of  religious  teaching,  and  the  mind  is 
directed  toward  certain  important  doctrines.  The  figures,  the  dress, 
and  the  adornments  do  not  widely  differ  from  the  prevailing  pagan 
style.  Notwithstanding  this  close  alliance  of  Christian  painting 
The  cycle  of  ^^^^  ^^^  current  heathen  art,  Christianity  had,  never- 
Christian  art  theless,  an  entirely  unique  cycle  of  subject  and  thought, 
peculiar.  r^^^  spiritual  depth  and  significance  of  its  portraitures, 

as  distinguished  from  the  mere  superficial  beauty  of  the  pagan 
art,  justify  the  claims  of  Christian  painting  to  a  good  degree  of 
originality. 

The  office  work  of  Christ  as  Good  Shepherd  is  sometimes 
revealed  only  by  the  accompanying  flock,  or  a  single  sheep  borne 
on  the  shepherd's  shoulders,'  or  by  the  implements  of  his  office, 
as  the  crook,  the  pails  of  milk,  and  the  shepherd's  pipes  (Fig.  38). 
The  costume  is  the  ordinary  Roman  tunic  and  pallium,  and  the 
feet  are  generally  clad  in  sandals.  The  same  vigor  characterizes 
other  figures  in  the  earliest  mural  paintings  of  the  catacombs. 
Old  Testament  scenes,  as  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  the  smiting  of 
the  rock  by  Moses,  the  loosing  of  his  sandals  in  the  presence 
the  burning  bush,  etc.,  are  treated  with  considerable  force  and 
naturalness,  and  some  of  the  earlier  ceiling  frescos  reveal  a  pur- 
An  artistic  bai-  pose  of  artistic  balancing  and  harmony.  It  must  not, 
ancing.  however,  be   inferred  from   this  that  a  corresponding 

balancing  of  the  subjects  of  the  pictorial  teaching  was  intended. 
This  would  be  an  abuse  of  the  symbolic  principle.     For  example,  in 

'  Fig.  2Y». 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS.  101 

Fig,  28,  the  antithesis  of  Moses  smiting  the  rock,  and  Christ 
raising  Lazarus,  cannot  be  regarded  as  type  and  antitype,  since 
this  would  compel  the  use  of  too  fanciful  and  far-fetched  analogies. 
The  same  is  true  of  Daniel  in  the  den  of  lions,  and  David  with  the 
sling.  Nor  can  we  suppose  that  the  artistically  balanced  pastoral 
scenes  were  designed  to  teach  dogmatic  or  practical  truths,  well- 


Fig.  28.— Fresco  ceiling  from  Santa  Domitilla,  Rome.    Orpheus  in  center. 
understood  by  the  initiated  but   unknown   to   others.     This,  too, 
were  to  carry  the  symbolic  principle  to  an  unwarranted  extreme. 

While  there  is  a  general  similarity  of  technical  treatment  to  that 
of  the  contemporary  heathen  art,  and  the  originality  of  Naturalness  of 
the  Christian  handling,  coming  from  juster  and  more   christian  art. 
inspiring   views   of    nature,    has   been   questioned,'    these    frescos, 

•  "Woltmann  and  Woermann:  History  of  Painting,  translated  by  Colvin,  1880, 
vol.  i,  pp.  163,  164.  Contra  v.  Schnaase:  Geschichte  d.  MM.  Kiinste,  2d  Auf.,  iii,  ss. 
102,  sq.  "  Christianity  first  unlocked  the  sense  for  nature  by  teaching  us  to  under- 
stand a.  creation  groaning  witli  us  and  by  showing  the  connection  of  nature  with 
ourselves  and  our  own  life."  Uhlhorn  :  Conflict  of  Christianity  with  Heathenism, 
Rev.  ed.,  pp.  66-69. 


102 


ARCHEOLOGY  OP  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


nevertlieless,  become  invaluable  indexes  of  the  belief  and  life  of  the 
infant  Church.  They  prove  that  the  aesthetic  feeling,  common  to  all 
men,  is  struggling  for  expression  amidst  the  adverse  influences  of 
the  times,  and  that  the  new  religion,  so  far  from  being  hostile  to 
art,  is  seeking  to  purify  and  inspire  it  by  its  own  richer  spiritual 
truths.  They  show  that  the  early  Christians  were  animated  by  a 
religion  of  cheerfulness  and  hopefulness.  The  objects  in  these 
mural  decorations  directly  or  symbolically  represent  persons,  offices, 
or  beliefs  that  are  soul-sustaining.  Nearly  the  whole  Old  Testa- 
ment cycle — the  history  of  Noah;  Abraham  ofl^ering  Isaac,  and 
God's  interference  to  save  by  a  substituted  victim;  the  smiting  of 
the  rock  by  Moses;  the  preservation  of  the  Hebrew  children  in  the 
fiery  furnace;  Daniel  in  the  den  of  lions;  the  history  of  Jonah — all 
these  are  of  a  character  to  supj^ort  and  inspire  the  faith  of  the  early 
believers.' 

In  the  pictorial  representations  of  Christ,  two*  general  types  are 
Two  types  of  <?arly  met.  The  first  is  that  of  a  beardless  young  man 
Christ.  Qf  considerable  force  and  freshness,  quite  closely  resem- 

bling the  sculptures  on  heathen  sarcophagi  of  the  same  date.  This 
type  is  usually  connected  with  the  cycle  of  Christ's  miraculous 
works,  as  the  opening  of  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  the  healing  of  the 
paralytic,  the  raising  of  Lazarus  (Fig.  29),  etc.  A 
like  buoyancy  of  spirit  is  met  in  the  paintings  of 
Christ  as  the  Good  Shepherd.  We  have  elsewhere 
(v.  p.  61)  noticed  the  relations  of  this  figure  to  the 
rambearing  Mercury  of  the  heathen  mythology. 
This  type  is  usually  without  a  beard,  as  in  Fig.  30, 
in  the  multiplication  of  the  loaves  and  the  raising 
of  Lazarus  in  the  encircling  lunettes. 

The  second  type,  though  somewhat  more  severe. 
Fig.  29.— Christ  rais-  is  Still  youtlif ul,  but  bearded  and  with  long  flowing 
inR  Lazarus.  Fresco,  j^^-^.  j^  j^  rarely,  if  ever,  found  in  the  mural 
paintings  of  the  catacombs,  but  appears  later  upon  the  gilded 
glasses. 

In  both  these  types  the  influence  of  heathen  thought  is  manifest, 
since  the  quite  prevalent  opinion  respecting  the  Saviour,  which  was 
held  by  some  of  the  Christian  fathers,  as  derived  from  Isa.  Hi,  23,  is 
here  dominated  by  the  heathen  idea  that  the  gods  must  be  conceived 


1  V.  Fig.  30,  in  which  most  of  these  scenes,  together  with  the  healing  of  the  par- 
alytic, the  multiphcation  of  the  loaves,  and  tlie  resurrection  of  Lazarus,  are  grouped 
about  the  Good  Shepherd. 

*  A  third,  found  in  the  mosaics  of  the  post-Constantiue  period,  is  elsewiiere 
noticed. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS.  103 

of  as  endowed  with  vigor  and  beauty.     The  Greek  believed  that 
only  the  ethically  good  should  be  in  the  image  of  the  gods;  contra- 


Fig.  30.— Fresco  from  the  c-eiling  of  a  chamber  in  San  Calisto,  Rome. 


riwise,  that  the  highest  physical  perfection  was  appropriate  in  sen- 
suous representation  of  the  divine.  To  his  apprehension  virtue  and 
beauty,  vice  and  ugliness,  were  in  indissoluble  union.  The  beautiful 
was  the  good,  and  deformity  was  felt  to  be  a  consequence  of  evil. 
It  was  therefore  necessary  that  the  most  worthy  embodiment  of 
the  divine  should  be  in  perfect  and  beautiful  forms.  Unlike  the 
gods  of  the  Indians  and  the  Egyptians,  with  which  much  of  the 
grotesque  and  ugly  was  often  connected,  those  gods  of  the  Greeks, 
conceived  of  as  free  from  moral  imperfections,  were  represented  by 
images  of  truest  nobility  and  beauty,  and  wanting  in  every  trace  of 
sorrow  and  weakness,' 

But  this  type  of  Christ  underwent  a  remarkable  transformation. 
Fig.    31    is   the   representation   of    a   fresco   bust   dis-  The  later  fres- 
covered  by  Bosio  in  the  catacomb  of  San  Ponziano,  at  ^^.^^  'IbelaT- 
Rome.     This  is  a  wide  departure  from  the  type  found  lier  types. 
in  the  earlier  frescos.     The  form  of  the  cross,  the  richly  jeweled 

'  V.  Alt:  Die  ffeiligenbilder, etc.,  pp.  4-7. 


104 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


corona,  the  more  grave  and  mature  cast  of  countenance,  the  peculiar 
curve  of  the  eyebrows,  are  positive  proofs  of  a  new  era  of  art.     A 


Q  <i>  o  a 


vr 

Fig.  31.— Bust  of  Christ  from  San  Ponziano.    Probably  from  ninth  century. 

somewhat  similar  art  type  is  seen  in  Fig.  32,  which  is  from  one  of 
the  catacombs  of  Naples.  It  is  of  the  sixth  century.  The  long, 
pointed  beard,  the  elongated  features,  the  countenance  bearing  an 
appearance  of  haggardness  and  of  sorrow,  are  in  directest  contrast 
with  the  air  of  youthful  vigor  and  cheerfulness  that  characterizes  the 
frescos  and  bass-reliefs  which  represent  the  biblical  cycle  of  Christ's 
works.  The  corona,  the  open  book,  and  the  hand  raised  in  the  man- 
ner of  teaching,  show  that  the  conception  of  Christ  has  shifted  from 
that  of  the  benevolent  wonder-worker  to  that  of  the  severe,  authori- 
tative, and  majestic  teacher  and  ruler. 

The  crypt  of  Santa  Cecilia  is  among  the  most  interesting  in  the 
immense  cemetery  of  San  Calisto.  It  is  connected  with  the  martyr- 
dom of  one  of  the  most  revered  female  saints  of  the  early  Church,  and 
is  rich  in  epigraphical  and  pictorial  objects  which  aid  in  the  under- 
standing of  some  portions  of  her  curious  history.  The  pictures  now 
preserved  in  this  crypt  are  manifestly  of  a  much  later  date  than  the 
original  ornamentation,  since  there  are  unmistakable  evidences  that 
mosaics  and  slabs  of  porphyry  have  in  some  instances  been  removed. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS. 


105 


Fi?.  32.— Bust  of  Christ  from  a  cemetery  of  Naples-    Probably 
of  the  sixth  century. 

tics,  and  has  lost  the  freedom 
and  grace  of  the  pictures  pro- 
duced under  the  influence  of 
the  classic  spirit. 

The  tendency  to  increased 
decoration,  and  to  clothe  the 
person  of  Christ  with  the  in- 
signia of  authority,  in  con- 
trast with  the  simplicity  of 
the  earlier  frescos,  is  further 
seen  in  the  accompanying  rep- 
resentation of  a  mural  paint- 
ing found  in  the  small  subur- 
ban cemetery  of  Santa  Gene- 
rosa,  near  Rome  (Fig.  34).  It 
is  believed  to  belong  to  the 
seventh  or  eighth  century. 
Christ  is  here  associated  with 
saints,    whose   names  are   in- 


In  one  of  the  bu- 
rial niches  is  found 
a  bust  of  Christ, 
represented  by  Fig. 
33,  which  has  been 
referred  to  the  sev- 
enth century.  The 
Greek  nimbus,  the 
hand  in  the  posi- 
tion of  blessing  or 
of  teaching,  and 
the  book  held  in 
the  left  hand,  are 
symbols  of  author- 
ity. The  whole  ex- 
pression and  execu- 
tion of  the  fresco 
suggest  a  distinc- 
tively Byzantine 
influence,  and  indi- 
cate that  the  art  of 
the  Church  has  fal- 
len under  the  direc- 
tion   of    ecclesias- 


Fig.  33.— From  the  crypt  Santa  Cecilia,  cemetery  of 
San  Caiisto.    Probably  of  seventh  century. 


106  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

scribed  on  the  walls  in  the  style  of  the  later  B^^zantine  pictures. 
He  is  clad  in  the  customary  tunic  and  j^allmm,  whose  drapery 
lacks  grace  and  flexibility;  his  right  hand  is  extended  in  the  fashion 
of  the  teacher,  or,  as  some  discover  in  it,  in  the  act  of  benediction 
after  the  Greek  manner  ;  in  the  left  is  held  the  book,  highly  orna- 
mented with  jewels.  The  entire  picture  indicates  a  later  origin, 
and  a  wide  departure  from  the  youthful  vigor  and  naive  simplicity 
of  the  earlier  figures  of  Christ.  The  jeweled  crowns,  and  the  exces- 
sive ornamentation  in  the  case  of  the  female  figure,  are  further  evi- 
dences of  art  decadence. 

While  the  fact  is  unquestioned,  the  reason  of  the  transition  from 
the  youthful  type  of  Christ,  as  it  is  met  in  the  earlier  frescos  and 
sculpture,  to  the  more  severe  and  majestic  type  of  the  later  repre- 
sentations is  not  manifest.  A  change  so  marked  and  general  could 
not  result  from  fortuitous  or  transient  causes.  Had  the  earlier  type 
of  Christ  tallied  with  the  conceptions  of  the  later  Church  it  would 
have  continued. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  Arian  controversy  left  its  impress 
upon  the  art  representations  of  the  Saviour  in  the  fourth  and  follow- 
ing centuries.  It  is  well  known  that  interest  in  the  nature  and 
person  of  Christ  was  not  limited  to  the  theologians,  but  the  ques- 
tion of  his  divinity  was  debated  by  all  classes  of  the  Roman  world. 
The  adoption  of  the  Nicene  and  Constantinopolitan  creeds  must 
necessarily  have  greatly  exalted  the  conception  of  the  dignity  and 
power  of  Christ.  This  personage,  "  the  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  .  .  . 
Light  of  Light,  very  God  of  very  God,  ...  by  whom  all  things 
were  made,  .  .  .  who  cometh  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead," 
must  find  a  representation  in  art  which  should  correspond  with  this 
sublime  conception.  Evidently  the  earlier  simpler  forms  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  and  of  the  benevolent  Wonder-worker  failed  to 
express  the  thought  which  the  creed  had  embodied.  To  develop 
a  type  which  might  more  fully  accord  with  the  prevailing  belief 
was  but  natural  and  necessary.  Moreover,  a  victorious  Church 
demanded  that  the  elaborate  mosaics  which  now  adorned  the 
apses  and  triumphal  arches  of  the  basilicas  should  impress  upon 
the  worshippers  the  truth  of  the  accepted  symbols.  The  dog- 
matic interest  must  have  influenced  the  art  development,  and  ma}'^ 
have  occasioned  the  introduction  of  the  new  type  which  is  the 
representation  of  the  mighty,  the  exalted,  and  superhuman  Christ. 
This  type  became  common  in  the  imposing  mosaics,  in  some  of  the 
frescos,  and  on  some  of  the  more  prominent  portions  of  the  sarcoph- 
agi, while  the  earlier  type  was  continued  in  the  cycle  of  biblical 
history  and  in  sjrmbolic  representations. 


108 


AKCILEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


liepresentatioiis  of   iiieu  aiul   women   with  U})lirtc'(l  liands,  as  in 

the  act  of  i)rayer,  teclinicallv  called    Oraxts,    arc  often 
Oraiits.  ...  . 

found.     Various    opinions    are   held  as   to   their  inter- 

])retation.     That  the  jiortrait  of  the  deceased  is    meant  has  some 

support  from  the  fact   tliat  where  the  Orant  occurs  on  sai'cophag-i 


-Virgin  and  star  from  Santa  Priscilla,  Rome. 


it  usually  is  placed  where  the  medallion  portrait  of  the   dead  is 
customary.' 

Representations  of  the  Virgin   are    quite   frequent.''     Generally 
^  ,.    ,    she   is   associated  with  the  child   Jesus,  who  sits  upon 

No    symbolical  ,%.... 

representation    her  lap  or  is  held  in  her   arms.     Tlie  Virgin   is  nevei-j 
of  the  Virgin,     y^^^  j^^^.  ^Yiv'mQ  Son,  represented  symbolically.' 

The  Virgin  with  the  star  (Fig.  35)  is  i)robal)ly  the  oldest  fresco 

'Wilpert:  Ein  Ci/'-Ins  Jn-  Chr'istohxj.  Genurhl,;  1S08.  Sclmltze  :  ArchrohgJc  drr 
AJtChr.  Kunst,  \).  175.  Ileussiier:  Die  BedcutuiKj  dcr  Oraiitat.  in  All-CJir.  Kun.st, 
Chris/lichen  Kuuathlatt,  1893. 

^  De  Rossi  mentions  more  tlian  twenty. 

^Eckl:  Die  Mitdoima  ah  Geffeiis/din?  chrls/licher  K'in.st)ii(i/erel  mid  Seidpficr,  1883, 
p.  3.  On  a  few  <;ilt  f;lasscs  of  ;i  later  oriiiiu  slie  appears  alone,  and  a  single  example 
of  a  marble  found  in  (iaiil,  nmeli  defiiced  and  of  nnknown  date,  hearing  the  inscrip- 
tion, MARIA  VIRGO  MIXISTER  DE  TEMPLO  GEROSOLA,  has  sometimes  been 
referred  to  as  showing  her  consecration  to  the  temple  service  during  lier  infancy. 
This  opinion  finds  very  slender  monumental  support — probably  none  earlier  than  the 
seventh  century.     See  also  Kraus  :    Gesch.  der  Alt-Chr.  Kunst. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS, 


109 


of  this  subject.  It  is  found  in  the  cemetery  of  Santa  Priscilla,  and  is 
claimed  by  de  Rossi  to  belong  to  the  first  century^  or  early  part  of  the 
second.  The  most  natural  suggestion  of  the  scene  is  that  of  the 
holy  family.  Joseph  points  to  the  star,  which  is  the  key  to  the 
subject  of  the  fresco,  and  thus  confines  it  to  the  cycle  of  biblical 
history.  The  more  labored  interpretation  of  de  Rossi,  that  the 
male  figure  refers  to  one  of  the  prophets  of  the  old  covenant  (prob- 
ably to  Isaiah),  who  points  forward  to  the  Star  of  Bethlehem  which 
was  to  indicate  where  the  Virgin  mother  and  the  infant  Jesus  were 
to  be  found,  seems  unnecessary,  and  adds  little  to  the  value  of  the 
testimony  of  such  paintings.  In  either  interpretation  the  fresco 
would  have  a  purely  biblical  character,  and  represent  an  historical 
event  wholly  void  of  the  dogmatic  significance  which  has  been 
attributed  to  it  by  some  Catholic  commentators. 

The  Virgin  and  child  from  Santa  Domitilla  (Fig.  36),  has  been 
referred  to  the  second  half  of 
the  third  century.  There  is 
evidence  that  it  was  originally 
a  part  of  a  representation  of 
the  "  adoration  of  the  magi," 
since  faint  traces  of  four  of 
these  magi  are  here  seen,  as 
in  the  fresco  from  SS.  Pietro 
e  Marcellino  outlines  of  two 
only  appear.  The  whole  scene 
is  simply  biblical.  It  has  a 
severity  of  artistic  treatment 
suggesting  a  very  early  origin. 
The  fresco  in  the  cemetery 
of  Santa  Agnese  (Fig.  37), 
on  the  Via  Nomentana,  be- 
longs to  the  fourth  or  fifth 
century.  It  represents  the 
Virgin  Mary  and  the  child 
Jesus. 

The  Virgin  extends  the  hands  in  the  attitude  of  prayer,  in 
harmony  with  the  class  of  figures  called  Or  ants.  Neither  the 
Virgin  nor   child    is   encircled   with   the   nimbus,  but   the   sacred 

•  We  give  this  and  a  few  other  photographs  to  convey  to  the  uninitiated  some  idea 
of  the  real  condition  of  these  frescoes.  Our  plate  is  after  a  photograph  by  Roller_ 
Late  discoveries  confirm  the  antiquity  of  this  fresco,  for  in  this  cubiculum  have  been 
found  inscriptions  of  a  very  early  date ;  among  them  those  of  two  Ulpli,  a  name 
common  in  the  time  of  Trajan,     v.  de  Rossi :  Bulletino  di  Arch.  Christ.,  1890. 


Fig.  36,— Virgin  and  child,  from  Santa  Domitilla, 
Rome. 


110  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

monogram  clearly  indicates'  the  subjects.  This  seems  to  be  the 
first  attempt  to  produce  any  thing  like  a  portrait  of  Mary  The 
growing  taste  for  ornamentation  is  noticed  in  the  jeweled  necklace ; 


Fig.  37.— Virgin  and  child,  from  Santa  Agnese,  Rome, 
the   wide   departure  of  the  details  of  the  figure  from  the    noble 
simplicity  of  the  earlier  frescos  points  to  a  later  origin,  and  plainly 
suggests  a  possible  Byzantine  influence.'^ 

From  the  close  of  the  fourth  century  the  artists  who  portray  the 
Virgin  and  the  child  depart  from  the  simple  biblical  story.  The 
frescos,  and  especially  the  elaborate  mosaics,^  seem  to  be  "  little  less 
than  embodied  creeds,  reflecting  from  century  to  century  the  pre- 
vailing tone  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  those  of  highest  authority  in 
the  Church."  ^  The  simplicity  of  faith  and  the  supporting  trust 
and  hope  which  characterized  the  Christians  in  the  age  of  obscurity 
and  persecution  yielded  to  the  pomp  and  splendor  of  a  triumphing 
and  protected  Church.^ 

1  The  circumstauce  that  the  P  of  the  monogram  points  in  both  instances  toiuard  the 
figures  is  manifestly  of  no  dogmatic  importance.  The  claims  of  some  Catholic  writers, 
based  on  this  seemingly  accidental  circumstance,  must  be  regarded  as  unscientific. 

*  From  the  absence  of  the  corona  in  case  of  both  mother  and  child,  and  from  the 
general  style,  de  Rossi  has  been  led  to  place  this  in  the  time  of  Constantine. 

^  These  are  described  later  in  this  chapter. 

*  Mariott:    The  Testimony  of  the  Catacombs,  etc.,  p.  34. 

^  "It  was  the  truth  of  the  Incarnation  which  they  (the  early  Christians)  embodied 
in  their  pictures  of  the  Virgin  mother  and  her  holy  Child.  '  Christ  crucified  '  they 
recalled,  even  in  the  emblematic  letters  inscribed  beside  him  ;  Christ  the  Good 
Physician  of  body  and.  soul,  in  their  oft-repeated  pictures  of  the  healing  of  the  sick, 
or  the  giving  of  sight  to  the  blind ;  Christ  the  Bread  from  Heaven,  in  the  miracle  of 
the  loaves  ;  Christ  the  Prince  of  life,  in  the  raising  of  Lazarus  from  the  grave ;  Christ, 
the  Star  risen  out  of  Jacob,  and  the  Desire  of  all  nations,  in  the  star-led  magi,  laying 
their  offering  at  his  feet  in  Bethlehem ;  Christ,  above  all,  in  that  form  which  to 
Christian  hearts  is  the  tenderest  and  most  loving  embodiment  of  their  Lord,  the 
Good  Shepherd,  bearing  back  upon  his  shoulders  the  lamb,  that,  but  for  him,  had 
been  lost."     Mariott:    Op.  ciir,  p.  30. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS. 


Ill 


Fig.  38,  a  fresco  of 
the  Good  Shepher<l 
from  the  seventh 
century,  shows  a  like 
decadence.  The  pe- 
culiar shepherd's 
pipes,  the  crux  yara- 

A  like  tran-    nitltCl,     Or 

\'"°°  !°   swastika 

other    su  b- 

jects.  upon    th( 

tunic,  the  inscriptioi  I 
"  Pastor  "above  tlu 
head,  are  new  ele- 
ments which  find  no 
place  in  the  simpler 
and  nobler  figures  ot 
the  "Good  Shep- 
herd "  from  the  eai  - 
lier  period  of  Christ- 
ian painting. 

So  also  in  Fig.  39, 
which  is  a  represen- 
tation of  Saint  Ce- 
cilia, found  in  the 
crypt  of  Santa  Ce- 


Fig.  39.— Fresco  of  Saint  Cetilia,  from  tht,cijptof 
Santa  Cecilia,  Rome. 


cilia  in  the  catacomb  of  San 
Calisto.  It  gives  evidence  of 
having  been  painted  over  an 
earlier  mosaic,  some  traces  of 
which  still  remain.  From  the 
peculiar  ornamentation,  the 
richness  of  dress,  etc.,  it  seems 
justifiable  to  refer  it  to  the 
seventh  century,  or  to  the  very 
close  of  the  period  of  which  w^e 
propose  to  treat.  It  shares  the 
general  inferiority  of  the  works 
of  this  century,  and  plainly  re- 
veals the  subjection  of  art  to 
the  influence  and  authority  of 
the  Church. 

The   simple  vintage   scenes 
undergo    like    transitions    of 


113  ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

style.  Figs.  1  and  2  {v.  pp.  57,  58)  show  the  ease  and  grace  of  the 
treatment  of  these  subjects  as  found  in  the  early  frescos  of  the  cata- 
combs. Nothing  could  be  more  completely  natural  than  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  vine  in  Fig.  1,  while  the  action  of  the  genii  in  Fig.  2  is 
most  free  and  charming.     When  compared  with  Fig.  40  the  change 


Fig.  40.— Vine  ornament  from  San  Calisto,  Rome.  Fourth  century. 
in  treatment  is  manifest.  "  Nobody  can  fail  to  notice  how  widely 
they  depart  from  the  truth  and  beauty  of  nature,  and  with  what 
arbitrary  violence  the  branches  are  twisted  into  regular  form,  so  as 
rapidly  to  degenerate  into  a  mere  decorative  pattern." '  Later  still 
a  further  hardening  of  the  lines  and  an  artificial  restraint  are  noticed, 
till  in  the  mosaic  decorations  in  the  mausoleum  of  Galla  Placidia 
(Fig.  41),  at  Ravenna,  "  Grasco-Roman  art  has  reached  the  Byzan- 
tine stage  of  high  conventionality,  still  retaining  great  beauty."^ 

'  Northcote  and  Brownlow:  Roma  Sotteranea,  vol.  ii,  p.  151.  To  these  authors 
we  are  indebted  for  permission  to  use  these  and  other  plates. 

'Tyrwhitt:  Christian  Art  Symbolism,  pp.  66,  6*7,  and  The  Art-Teaching  of  the 
Primitive  Church,  p.  117,  quoted  by  Northcote  and  Brownlow.     It  is  difficult  to  see 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS. 


113 


From  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  a  considerable  number  of 
ornamented  gilt  glasses  which  possess  much  artistic  and  paj^yj,™ 
dogmatic  interest  have  been  preserved.    A  few  probably  gilt  glasses,  or 
belong  to  the  third   and  sixth   centuries.      They  can   ^""did'Oro. 
hardly  be  regarded  as  paintings,  but  are  rather  drawings  made  by  a 


Fig.  41.— Mosaic  vine  ornament  from  dome  of  tlie  mausoleum  of  Galla  Placidia,  Ravenna, 

A.  D.  440. 

sharp  pointed  instrument  upon  gold  foil  which  was  placed  upon 
glass  ;  this  plate  was  then  covered  by  another,  and  the  whole  fused 
together.  These  have  been  fully  described  by  Garrucci  and  others.' 
Their  cycle  is  not  essentially  different  from  that  of  the  catacomb 
frescos,  except  that  the  representation  of  saints  is  somewhat  more 
frequent,  and  the  dogmatic  element  seems  to  be  more  prominent. 
On  these  the  Virgin  is  found  associated  with  Christ,  with  the  apos- 
tles, Paul  and  Peter,  and  in  a  few  instances  of  late  date  she  is  the 
solitary  figure.'  The  frequent  pictorial  association  of  primacyof 
Peter  and  Paul  is  instructive  in  the  examination  of  the  Peter. 
art  testimony  to  the  dogma  of  the  primacy  of  Peter  (v.  Plate  I). 

how  these  mosaics  can  with  any  propriety  be  described  as  "  rich  acanthus  scroll- 
work."    V.  Veuables:  "Mosaics,"  in  Bid.  of  Chris.  Antiquities,  p.  1330. 

'  V.  especially  Vetri  ornnti  di  figure  in  oro  travati  nei  cimiteri  de'  cristiani  primitivi 
di  Roma,  4to,  Roma,  1864,  and  his  extensive  work,  Storia  deW  arte  cristiana,  etc., 
6  vols.,  4to.  Prato,  1873,  seg.  Also,  de  Rossi:  Roma  Sotterranea,  3  vo]s.,  Ato.  Roma, 
1864,  1867,  1877.  Roller:  Les  Catacombes  de  Rome,  2  vols,  4to.     Paris,  1882. 

'  It  has  been  questioned  whether  this  name  may  not  apply  to  some  saintly 
person  named  Mary,  rather  than  to  the  mother  of  Jesus;  since  tlie  earlier  Christian 
monuments  seem  not  to  introduce  the  Virgin  in  her  individual  and  independent 
character,  but  the  infant  Jesus  was  the  raison  d'etre  for  the  representation  of  the 
mother. 


114  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

With  the  exception  of  a  very  few  of  late  origin  there  is  in  these 
gilded  glasses  no  intimation  of  any  preeminence  of  Peter  over  Paul. 
In  some  instances,  where  these  apostles  are  associated  with  Christ 
on  the  same  glass,  Paul  has  the  place  of  honor;  in  others,  Peter  is  at 
the  right  hand  of  Christ;  thus  showing  that  the  primacy  of  either 
would  not  once  be  suggested  by  the  pictorial  representations. 
Both  wear  the  corona,  as  in  Fig.  3  ;  both  are  represented  in  like 
dress  as  youthful  and  beardless,  as  in  Fig.  4  ;  both  are  receiving  a 
common  crown,  as  in  Fig.  5  ;  both  are  seated  upon  like  Roman 
chairs,  and  bear  equally  the  rolls  as  a  symbol  of  apostolic  authority, 
as  in  Fig.  7  ;  both  alike  are  being  crowned  from  above,  as  in  Figs. 
8,  9,  10.  In  these  art  representations  there  is  no  intimation  of  a 
superiority  or  primacy  of  any  sort  whatever.  This  is  more  note- 
worthy from  the  fact  that  these  glasses  belong  to  a  period  when  the 
primacy  of  Peter  had  already  been  asserted.  Their  teaching,  how- 
ever, entirely  accords  with  the  general  tradition  of  the  joint  agency 
of  Peter  and  Paul  in  founding  the  Church  of  Rome.  In  Fig.  1 
there  is  manifestly  an  attempt  at  portraiture.  The  bronzes.  Figs. 
1  and  2,  have  given  rise  to  much  discussion  relative  to  their  age  and 
character.  Many  archaeologists  believe  that  in  Fig.  1  are  found  the 
traditional  characteristics  of  these  chief  apostles.  Peter  has  a  firmer, 
rounder  head,  thick  curled  hair,  and  a  short  matted  beard  ;  Paul  has 
more  elongated  features,  thinner  hair  inclining  to  baldness,  a  longer 
yet  more  scanty  beard.  Amid  the  contrariety  of  opinions  it  is  impos- 
sible to  pronounce  absolutely  upon  the  age  of  bronze  Fig.  1,  or  the 
person  represented  in  Fig.  2.  The  artistic  excellence  of  the  work 
would  suggest  an  early  origin.' 

It  is  quite  remarkable  that  in  the  cemeteries  and  churches  of 

.  Italy,  and  in  the  art  monuments  of  the  first  four  centuries 
The  cycle     of  •' ' 

subjects  u  n  i  -  in  other  lands,  the  cycle  of  the  subjects  of  painting,  of 

form.  sculpture,  and  of   the  glyptic  arts  is  nearly  uniform. 

The  same  symbols  from  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms,  the 
same  biblical  events,  the  same  historical  characters,  are  everywhere 
repeated.  Some  archaeologists  have  accounted  for  this  uniformity 
on  the  supposition  that  the  Church  had  given  its  sanction  to  these 
as  a  means  of  expressing  and  perpetuating  a  common  faith,  and  of 
teaching  doctrines  which  were  regarded  as  fundamental,  thus  guard- 
ing against  the  attempts  of  heretical  teachers  to  divide  the  Church. 
Outside  the  catacombs  the  number  of  surviving  paintings  of  the 
first   six   centuries  is   very  limited.     From   documentary  evidence 

'  While  these  bronzes  properly  belong  to  the  department  of  plastic  art  or  sculp- 
ture, it  seems  more  convenient  to  refer  to  them  here  in  connection  witli  tiie  gilded 
glasses  containing  like  subjects. 


Plate  I.— Gilded  glasses  and  bronze  busts,  representing  Peter  and  Paul. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS.  117 

we  are  justified  in  believing  that  the  art  influence  of  the  Roman- 
Christian  world  extended  far  and  wide  in  the  coun-  paintings  sttu 
tries  of  western  and  northern  Europe  which  had  been  i°  existence. 
Christianized  through  the  zealous  labours  of  missionaries.  We  infer 
that  painting  was  extensively  used  in  the  decoration  of  imposing 
churches  in  Gaul,  along  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  and  in  Spain.  The 
style  and  subjects  of  such  paintings  were  probably  similar  to  those 
of  Christian  Rome,  somewhat  modified  by  influences  peculiar  to  the 
barbarian  peoples.  Ireland,  which  was  converted  in  the  first  half  of 
the  fifth  century,  and  had  developed  its  ecclesiastical  life  almost 
independently  of  Roman  influence,  was  not  wanting  in  attempts  to 
ornament  the  churches  with  appropriate  mural  paintings.  Of  these 
none  of  an  earlier  date  than  the  seventh  century  have  survived. 

A  few  illuminated  manuscripts  have  been  preserved  to  our  time. 
The  art  of  illumination  common  to  the  classic  peoples  was  prac- 
tised by  the  Christians  from  the  fourth  century,  and  Miniatures  and 
reached  its  highest  perfection  in  the  Middle  Ages,  illuminations. 
Such  manuscripts  were  sometimes  dedicated  to  persons  of  high 
official  station,  or  were  given  by  the  wealthy  to  religious  houses. 
This  was  probably  one  reason  of  their  rich  ornamentation.  The 
purpose  of  the  illumination  was  partly  artistic  and  partl}^  didactic. 
The  beautiful  illuminations  of  portions  of  the  Scriptures,  of  Psalters, 
and  of  prayer-books  which  have  come  to  us  from  the  mediaeval 
period  suggest  a  similar  practice  of  the  Church  from  the  fourth  to 
the  seventh  century. 

A  fine  example  of  illumination  of  Greek  origin,  believed  to 
date  from  about  the  close  of  the  fifth  century,  is  pre-  Book  of  Gene- 
served  in  the  Imperial  Library  at  Vienna.  This  work  ^'s- 
comprises  biblical  characters  and  allegorical  figures  which  are 
helpful  in  the  interpretation  of  the  text.  "It  contains  twenty- 
four  leaves  illuminated  on  both  sides,  in  most  cases  with  pictures 
arranged  in  two  rows  on  purple  vellum.  The  execution  is  slight, 
almost  superficial,  but  yet  shows  certainty  of  touch.  We  still  find 
here  a  close  observation  of  the  life  of  men  and  animals  ;  the  figures 
show  considerable  power  of  bodily  expression  and  movement ;  they 
are  of  sturdy  build,  for  slenderness  of  proportion  is  not,  as  often 
supposed,  the  sign  of  Byzantine  as  distinguished  from  Western 
art,  but  rather  of  a  later  period  as  opposed  to  an  earlier."  ' 

The  religious  books  are  generally  more  fully  and  carefully  illus- 
trated than  the  ancient  treatises  on  science,  or  even  the  fragments 

'  "Woltmann  and  Woermann  :  History  of  Painting,  vol.  i,  p.  190.  Labarte:  His- 
toire  des  Arts  industries,  etc.,  2d  ed.,  1872.  Plate  42  gives  a  colored  reproduction 
of  a  single  scene — the  interview  of  Jacob  with  his  sons. 


118  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

of  classic  literature.  The  pictures  are  not  of  persons  only,  nor  are 
they  confined  to  the  representation  of  historical  events  or  places, 
but  delineations  of  mental  qualities,  virtues  and  vices,  protective 
powers,  etc.,  are  not  infrequent.  The  borders  of  these  manuscripts 
are  often  rich  with  ornamentation  in  which  the  harmony  of  propor- 
tions and  colour  is  carefully  studied. 

The  few  leaves  of  a  Latin  Bible  preserved  in  the  Royal  Library 
Fragment  of  a  0^  Berlin  belong  to  the  sixth  century.  On  these  are 
Latin  Bible.  found  somewliat  mutilated  representations  of  the  history 
of  Saul.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  they  have  suffered  so  much, 
since  their  artistic  excellence  appears  to  have  been  exceptional. 

A  Syrian  Gospel-book,  of  the  last  quarter  of  the  sixth  century, 
Syrian  Gospel-  is  specially  interesting  for  containing  one  of  the  earliest 
^°°^-  pictorial  representations  of  the  crucifixion.     We  have 

already  seen  that  the  early  Christians  avoided  depicting  the  painful 
and  more  repellent  scenes  in  the  life  and  passion  of  Christ.  Later, 
however,  when  the  Church  had  secured  complete  recognition,  and 
art  had  declined,  these  subjects  were  represented  in  all  their 
The  first  pic-  ^itsralness.  In  the  border  of  this  manuscript  the  cruci- 
toriai  crucifix-  fied  Lord  appears  fastened  to  a  cross  by  four  nails  ;  on 
*°""  either  side  are  the  thieves,  while  below  St.  John,  the 

Marys,  and  the  soldiers  casting  lots  for  Christ's  garments  are  pictured; 
in  another  part  the  resurrection,  the  Marys  at  the  tomb  addressed 
by  the  angel,  and  the  Saviour  appearing  to  the  women  are  delin- 
eated. As  might  be  expected,  this  provincial  work,  the  manuscript 
of  which  was  written  in  the  convent  of  St.  John  at  Zagba,  in  Mes- 
opotamia, and  the  painting  executed  by  Rabula,  a  monk,  is  quite 
inferior  in  execution  to  much  that  is  preserved  in  the  great  centers 
of  commerce  and  enlightenment.' 

Most  of  the  illuminations  of  the  sixth  century  exhibit  consider- 
able artistic  power,  and  give  evidence  of  an  attempt  at  art  revival 
after  the  fearful  destruction  and  decadence  of  the  fifth  century. 

MOSAICS. 

A  very  interesting  class  of  monuments,  illustrating  the  thought 
and  artistic  power  of  the  early  Church,  ai'e  the  Christian  mosaics. 
They  can  be  classified  neither  with  paintings  nor  with 
sculpture.  They  can  hardl}'-  be  ranked  among  the  fine 
arts  at  all,  since  their  production  seems  in  some  respects  to  depend 
more  upon  the  mechanical  than  upon  the  artistic  faculty.  This 
consideration  would  lead  us  to  classify  the  musivist  among  artisans 

'On  tliis  illuminated  manuscript  v.  Garrucci :  Moria,  etc.,  Plates  128-140,  and 
Labarte,  Op.  ciL,  vol.  i,  pp.  164,  165,  Plate  44. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS.  119 

rather  than  among  artists.  To  what  extent  the  musivist  was  also 
the  creator  of  his  design  cannot  now  be  known.  Since,  however, 
mosaic  is  a  branch  of  pictorial  art,  or  art  on  a  surface  including  two 
dimensions,  in  which  color  effects  are  studied,  it  is  Nearest  allied 
most  nearly  allied  to  painting,  and  can  best  be  studied  *°  Pointing- 
as  the  historic  successor  of  the  frescos  of  the  catacombs. 

With  other  arts  the  Christian  Church  inherited  from  the  heathen 
world  the  mosaic  also.  Some  of  the  most  elaborate  Borrowed  from 
decorative  works  of  antiquity  were  in  this  style.  The  antiquity. 
Scriptures  speak  of  pavements  "of  red,  and  blue,  and  white,  and 
black  marble  in  the  palace  of  Ahasuerus  "  (Esther  i,  6).  The  fre- 
quent mention  of  mosaics  by  Pliny,  and  the  preservation  of  such 
beautiful  examples  as  the  "  Bellerophon,"  the  "  Doves  of  the  Cap- 
itoline  Museum,"  the  "  Battle  of  Arbela,"  and  the  fountain  pieces  of 
Pompeii,  show  that  this  art  had  been  carried  to  great  perfection  by 
pre-Christian  peoples.  The  Romans  recognised  three  kinds  of  mo- 
saics :  1.  The  opus  tessellatum,  which  consisted  of  small  pieces  of 
stone  or  bits  of  marble,  arranged  in  regular  geometric  forms.  This 
was  the  most  ancient  style,  2,  The  opits  vermiculatum,  which  re- 
ceived its  name  from  the  fineness  of  the  pieces  of  marble  of  which 
the  work  was  composed.  3.  The  opus  sectile,  which  was  formed  of 
plates  of  marbles  of  different  colors,  making  thereby  a  decorated 
veneer. 

The  genuine  Christian  mosaic,  that  is,  the  use  for  decorative  or 
didactic  purposes  of  cubes  of  colored  glass  on  walls  Limited  use  in 
or  ceilings,  instead  of  in  pavements,  is  but  very  the  catacombs, 
sparingly  found  in  the  catacombs.  The  few  examples  which  still 
survive  adhere  quite  closely  in  general  style  and  subjects  to  the 
contemporaneous  frescos.  The  Saviour  seated  between  Peter  and 
Paul,  the  raising  of  Lazarus,  the  healing  of  the  paralytic,  Daniel  in  the 
lions'  den,  a  couple  of  medallion  busts  of  a  man  and  wife,  the  latter 
with  arms  outstretched  in  prayer  in  the  general  fashion  of  the 
Orantes,  comprise  nearly  all  the  subjects  treated  in  these  mosaics. 
They  are  usually  of  inferior  workmanship,  and  promise  little  for 
that  wealth  of  ornamentation  afterward  met  in  the  Constantinian 
and  post-Constantinian  churches. 

An  incidental  benefit  of  the  study  of  the  mosaics  from  the  fourth 
to  the  tenth  century  is  the  aid  thus  afforded  in  deter-  utility  of  the 
mining  the  age  of  the  paintings  in  the  catacombs  them-  study, 
selves.'  Little  doubt  can  be  entertained  relative  to  the  progressive 
ornamentation  of  subterranean  burial  places  through  the  zeal  and 
devotion  of  the  popes.  Careful  study  of  the  Church  mosaics  be- 
*  de  Jouy:  Les  Mosdiques  chretiennes,  etc.,  Paris,  1857,  p.  6. 


120  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

twecn  A.  D.  350  and  A.  D.  450  (the  latter  date  marking  the  de- 
struction attending  the  terrible  irruption  of  Attila)  shows  three 
types :  those  of  Santa  Constantia,  which  are  allied  to  classic  art ; 
those  in  the  Chapel  of  Galla  Placidia  at  Ravenna,  whose  Good 
Shepherd  suggests  immediately  the  primitive  paintings  of  the  cata- 
combs, belong  to  the  cycle  of  symbolic  art  ;  and  the  mosaics  of 
Santa  Maria  Maggiore  at  Rome,  which  represent  purely  historical 
and  biblical  events.  All  belong  to  the  old  Roman  rather  than  to 
the  Byzantine  school.'  The  latter  school  seems  to  have  had  com- 
plete sway  from  the  middle  of  the  fifth  to  the  seventh  century, 
except  where  the  Lombard  churches  show  a  partial  emancipation, 
from  its  influence. 

Their  extensive  use  for  decorative  and  dogmatic  purposes,  and 
their  great  durability,  give  to  mosaics  almost  a  first  rank  among 
archaeological  monuments.  With  regard  to  no  other  objects,  how- 
ever, are  greater  skill  and  caution  needed  to  ensure  correct  results. 
Caution  against  Such  is  the  nature  of  the  materials,  the  permanence  of 
restorations.  tj^e  colors,  and  the  ease  with  which  insertions  can  be 
made,  that  experts  may  be  deceived.  It  is  probable  that  hardly  an 
important  mosaic  has  escaped  attempts  at  restoration.  Their  evi- 
dential value  may  thus  be  seriously  impaired.  Only  when  there  is 
some  assurance  that  even  the  restorations  are  in  the  spirit  of  the 
original  can  these  monuments  be  regarded  as  witnesses  to  the  life 
and  thought  of  their  age. 

The  location   of   mosaics  is   various   in   different   churches   and 

in  the  same  church.     They  are  more  usually  employed 

Where   found.    .        .  ,      ^         .,.  *;      .  .,  •        i       i  i 

in  the   vaulted   ceilings   oi    the  tribune,  in  the   broad 

spaces  on  the  face  of  the  triumphal  arch,  on  the  spandrels  of  arches 
in  the  main  nave,  and  on  the  entablatures.     These  positions  place 
the  pictures  in  the  most  favorable  light  for  study.     (See  Plate  I*.) 
The  question  of  the  chronology  of  these,  as  of  other  early  Christ- 
ian  monuments,    has   greatly   divided   the   opinion   of 
archaeologists.   Rome  is  probably  the  site  of  the  earliest 
and  best  preserved,  unless  we  except  the  remarkable  group  in  the 
dome  of  St.   George  in   Thessalonica  (modern  Salonica).     If  this 
St.  George  of  church  was  dedicated  by  Constantine  during  his  sojourn 
Thessalonica.     in  that  city  in   A.  D.  323,^  then  its  mosaics   excel  all 

'Tyrwhitt:  Art  Teaching  of  (he  Primitive  Church,  London,  1882,  pp.  148,  149. 
For  a  tentative  classification  of  mosaics,  see  Am.  Jour.  Arch.,  June,  1888. 

*Texier  and  Pullan:  J^glises  Byzantines,  plates  xxxi-xxxiv.  In  this  work  the 
origin  of  the  church  is  discussed  at  some  length.  Especial  stress  is  laid  upon  the 
fact  that  the  portraits  in  mosaic  are  all  of  those  saints  who  lived  before  Constantine. 
The  character  of  the  symbols  on  the  bricks  of  the  pavement  is  regarded  as  of  great 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS.  123 

other  extra-catacombal  ones  in  age,  extent,  and  magnificence.  Its 
dome  (?;.  Fig.  106),  two  hundred  and  sixteen  feet  in  circumference,  is 
almost  entirely  covered  with  elaborate  and  imposing  designs  which 
have  been  estimated  to  contain  more  than  36,000,000  tesserce,  or 
small  cubes  of  glass.  The  style  of  the  decoration  is  somewhat  like 
that  on  the  walls  of  Pompeii,  and  immediately  reminds  the  student 
of  some  of  the  early  frescos  of  the  catacombs.  This  circumstance 
would  suggest  an  early  origin. 

The  grouping  of  the  figures  is  more  easy  and  natural  than  in  the 
later  Byzantine  art.  There  is  manifest  attention  to  per-  character  of 
spective,  while  the  variety  of  character  and  expression  tbese  mosaics, 
is  indicative  of  artistic  power  and  freedom.  The  cupola  is  divided 
into  eight  nearly  equal  compartments.  The  handling  of  subjects 
is  generally  uniform,  though  in  some  particulars  there  is  striking 
variety.  Each  segment  contains  the  representation  of  a  building, 
evidently  designed  for  Christian  worship,  wondei*fully  elaborated, 
decorated,  and  furnished  with  the  paraphernalia  for  ritualistic 
service.  In  the  foreground  of  each  are  two  majestic  figures,  clad 
in  the  robes  of  the  officiating  clergy,  with  hands  extended  in 
the  attitude  of  prayer  or  benediction.  In  the  fashion  of  the  Byzan- 
tine art  the  names  of  these  are  written  upon  the  wall  near  the  fig- 
ure.^ They  refer  to  some  of  the  noted  men  of  the  Eastern  Church 
whose  labors  were  effective  in  shaping  its  history  and  in  formula- 
ting its  doctrines. 

The  only  rival  of  St.  George  in  the  age  of  its  mosaics  is  the  circular 
Church,  Santa  Constanza  of  Rome.    As  elsewhere  stated  ganta  constan- 
(y.  Fig.  118),  this  building  was  erected  by  Constantine,   za  of  Rome. 
and  is  therefore  of  the  fourth  century.'^    What  was  the  original  pur- 
pose of  its  erection,  whether  for  a  baptistery  to  the  adjacent  basilica 
of  Santa  Agnese,  or  as  a  burial  place  for  the  emperor's 
daughters,  Constantia  and  Helena,  may  not  be  known. 
The  style  of  some  of  its  mosaics  certainly  indicates  an  early  origin. 

importance,  v.  pp.  133-135.  Unger:  Erscli  u.  Gruher^s  Encydopcedia,  Ixxxiv,  407, 
places  tliese  mosaics  at  a  much  later  period.  Woltmann  and  Woermann :  v.  History 
of  Painting,  vol.  i,  p.  198,  note,  share  Unger's  opinion.  Bayet :  Rtcherches  pour 
servir  a  riiisioire  de  la  Peinture,  etc.,  v.  p.  85  and  note,  inclines  to  place  them  between 
the  age  of  Constantine  and  that  of  Justinian,  but  is  in  doubt.  Kraus  also  accepts 
Unger's  opinion. 

'  This  is  generally  quoted  in  proof  of  a  later  origin,  thougli  not  decisive. 

'  The  age  of  these  mosaics  has  likewise  been  a  subject  of  controversy.  Doubtless 
one  reason  of  the  widely  different  opinions  is  the  failure  to  discriminate  between  the 
originals  and  the  restorations.  That  some  of  the  restorations  belong  to  the  seventh 
century  is  conceded,  but  that  some  portions  reach  back  to  about  the  middle  of  the 
fourth  can  hardly  be  doubted. 


124  ARCHEOLOGY  OP  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

The  rich  decoration  upon  a  white  ground,  representing  the  vin- 
tage, together  with  many  figures  of  genii,  birds,  fruit,  etc.,  liken  it 
very  strongly  to  the  heathen  art  of  the  period.  There  is  in  it  very 
little  which  is  distinctively  Christian.  The  space  is  divided  into 
twelve  sections  or  compartments,  two  of  which  extend  into  the 
form  of  an  apse.  The  subjects  seem  to  be  arranged  on  the  general 
principle  of  artistic  balancing,  somewhat  after  the  style  of  some 
early  frescoed  ceilings  of  the  catacombs.  The  mosaics  of  the  dome 
have  long  since  disappeared.' 

A  like  classical  spirit  is  noticed  in  the  slight  mosaic  remains  in  two 
Chapels  in  San  chapels  of  the  Baptistery  of  San  Giovanni  in  Laterano, 
Giovanni  in  at  Rome.  They  belong  to  the  latter  part  of  the  fifth 
Laterano.  century.     While  the  opinion  that  they  were  part  of 

the  palace  of  Constantine  has  been  questioned,  they  nevertheless 
bear  the  peculiar  character  of  naturalism  which  associates  them  in 
the  same  class  with  Santa  Constantiaof  Rome,  and  St.  George  of  Thes- 
Change  in  ibe  salonica.  But  this  richness  of  decoration  soon  passed 
sakj^ln^  The  ^^ay.  The  later  mosaics  are  executed  with  a  very  differ- 
churches.  ent  feeling.     A  more  sober,  didactic  purpose  seems  to 

control  the  artists.  Dr.  Woltmann  says  :  "  This  decorative  style, 
with  its  playful  symbolism,  did  not  in  the  long  run  suit  the  serious- 
ness of  the  Christian  spirit.  When  St.  Nilus  (A.  D.  450)  was  con- 
sulted about  the  decoration  of  a  church  he  rejected,  as  childish  and 
unworthy,  the  intended  design  of  plants,  birds,  animals,  and  a  num- 
ber of  crosses,  and  desired  the  interior  to  be  adorned  with  pictures 
from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  with  the  same  motive  that 
Gregory  II.  expressed  afterward  in  the  following  words  :  '  Painting 
is  employed  in  churches  for  this  reason,  that  those  who  are  ignorant 
of  the  Scriptures  may  at  least  see  on  the  walls  what  they  are  unable 
to  read  in  the  books.'  From  this  time,  accordingly,  church  pictures 
become  no  longer  purely  decorative  ;  they  serve  for  edification,  for 
instruction,  for  devotion.  With  this  object  Christian  art  makes  the 
great  step  from  mei"e  symbolic  suggestion  to  real  representation."" 
Santa  Puden-  This  statement  finds  happy  illustration  in  the  remark- 
ziana.  able  mosaic  of  Santa  Pudenziana,  on  the  Esquiline,  in 

Rome.     The  work  also  shows  the  necessity  of  careful  discrimination 

'  E.  Miintz :  Notes  sur  les  Mosaiques  chretiennes  de  Vltalie,  in  the  Revue  Archeologique, 
1875  and  1878,  attempts  to  show  that  this  cupola  displays  a  composition  entirely 
pagan  in  character.  He  claims  that  it  represents  a  triumph  of  Bacchus,  which  is  in- 
dicated by  the  accompanying  satyrs,  bachantes,  tigers,  etc.  Possibly  this  may  fur- 
nish a  ground  for  the  opinion  that  this  church  was  originally  a  temple  of  Bacchus,  as 
advocated  by  Ciampini  {v.  De  sacris  cedificiis),  and  by  other  more  recent  archaeologists. 

'  History  of  Painting,  vol.  i,  p.  167. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS.  135 

between   originals  and  restorations.      Labarte '   believes   that    the 

apostles  and  female  figures  are  f i-om  the  close  of  the  fourth  century, 

but  that  the  Christ,  the  sj^mbols  of  the  evangelists,  and  some  other 

portions  are  of  later  origin.^     Garrucci,  Woltmann,  and  others  refer 

this  mosaic  to  Pope  Siricius,  who  built  the  church  in  390  A.  D.     It 

certainly  marks  a  transition  from  the  decorative  style  to  the  historic 

and  didactic.     In  the  center  is  a  colossal  figure  of  a  bearded  and  nim- 

bused  Christ,  seated  in  a  richly  ieweled  chair  and  clad 

r,       •  1  TT  T      1  •        •    1       1        -1    •         ,  Description. 

in  flowing  robes.     He  extends  his  right  hand  m  the 

manner  of  blessing,  while  in  his  left  is  an  open  book.  On  his  right 
and  left  are  arranged  the  apostles,  Peter  and  Paul  being  next  to  the 
Saviour.  On  the  heads  of  the  latter,  female  figures  of  great  dignity, 
supposed  to  represent  the  Jewish  and  the  Gentile  Churches,^  place 
wreaths  of  triumph.  Behind  the  Christ  is  a  richly  jeweled  cross,  stand- 
ing on  a  mountain  apart  by  itself.  Rising  in  the  distance  are  archi- 
tectural structures  representing  the  two  sacred  cities,  Bethlehem  and 
Jerusalem,  while  above  in  the  clouds  float  the  symbols  of  the  Evan- 
gelists. The  whole  work  is  of  a  most  serious,  yet  artistic,  character. 
The  transition  from  the  style  of  Santa  Constantia  to  that  of 
Santa  Pudenziana  is  most  remarkable.  That  within  a  half  century 
there  should  be  presented  so  great  a  contrast  in  interior  rpj.j^jjgjjiQjj  j^ 
church  decoration  certainly  suggests  some  exceptional  style,  and  the 
cause.  The  classic  character  of  nearly  every  pai-t  of  ^'^"^®' 
this  mosaic  differs  much  from  the  art  of  the  age  of  Constantine 
and  of  his  immediate  successors.  Moreover  the  seriousness  of 
the  religious  teaching  embodied  in  it  is  noteworthy.  The  Christ 
seems  to  stand  midway  between  the  youthful,  and  for  the  most 
part  impersonal,  Christ  of  the  catacombs  and  that  severer  and 
more  gloomy  type  which  is  prominent  in  the  later  frescos  and 
mosaics.  Probably  the  art  historians  are  correct  in  attributing  this 
result  mainly  to  the  impulse  given  to  art  studies  by  the  legal  enact- 
ments of  the  emperors.  The  demand  of  the  now  established  religion 
for  churches  not  only  of  greater  dimensions,  but  also  of  increased 
magnificence,  was  in  itself  a  stimulus  to  art  activity.  There  is 
also  discovered   in  some  of  the  mosaics  of  this  period  a  tendency 

1  Arts  indusiriels,  vol.  ii,  pp.  338-342,  and  454,  plate  Ivii.     v.  also  Vitet:  Etudes 
sur  VHistoire  de  VArt,  Paris,  1864,  vol.  i,  pp.  18-39. 

'^  Crowe  and  Cavacaselle :  History  of  Fainting  in  Italy,  London,   1864,  vol.  i,  pp. 
12,  13,  recognise  numerous  restorations  in  these  figures. 

^  Garrucci :  Istoria,  etc.     Woltmann  and  Woermann :  History  of  Painting,  vol.  i, 
p.  167.      Others  see  in  these  the  represenfcitions  of  the  sisters  SS.  Pudentiana  and 
Presedes.  v.  Gerspach :  La  Mosaique,  p.  140 ;  also  Barbet  de  Jouy :  Les  Mosaiqiies 
chretiennes,  p.  49. 
10 


126  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

to  return  to  classic  models,  and  to  subject  the  artist  to  the  rules  of 

the  ancient  school/ 

The  mosaics  of  Santa  Sabina  at  Rome  belong  to  the  fifth  century. 

They  consist  of  two  female  figures,  one  marked  '■'■Ecdesia 
Santa    Sabina.  .  .   .         „  ^,         i         i        ,.    ^i 

ex  circumcisione,    or  the  church  oi    the  circumcision  ; 

the  other  "  Ecdesia  ex  gentihus^''  or  the  church  of  the  Gentiles  ;  also 

of  an  inscription  of  seven  verses,  which  gives  the  occasion  of  the 

origin  of  the  mosaic,  and  contains  a  highly  eulogistic  notice  of  the 

artist.^     The  type  of  these  is  entirely  Roman. 

The  few  remnants  of  the  mosaics  of  San  Paolo  fuori  le  mura,  on 
St.  Paul  beyond  the  Via  Ostia,  must  also  be  referred  to  this  century, 
the  walls.  The  destruction  of  this  interesting   church  by  fire,  in 

1823,  removed  some  of  the  most  valuable  Christian  monuments  of 
the  fifth  century  which  had  anywhere  survived.  The  few  original 
mosaics  upon  the  triumphal  arch  were  prepared  by  the  order  of 
Galla  Placidia,  daughter  of  Theodosius.^ 

The  completest  series  of  mosaics  at  Rome,  dating  from  the  fifth 
Santa  Maria  century,  is  in  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  called  also  the 
Maggiore.  Liberian  Basilica.  Their  exceptionally  artistic  character 
has  frequently  been  noted  by  critics.  They  seem  to  be  entirely 
isolated  from  vsrorks  before  and  after  the  period.  The  suggestion 
has  been  made  that  the  artists  formed  these  mosaics  after  the 
fashion  of  the  classical  bassreliefs,  especially  those  of  the  columns 
of  Trajan  and  of  the  Antonines,  while  their  predecessors  had 
taken  the  frescos  of  the  baths  as  their  models,  and  their  succes- 
sors were  influenced  by  Greece  or  Byzantium.*  The  arch  of  the 
tribune,  divided  into  three  zones,  is  decorated  with 
New  Testament  scenes.  In  the  first  are  the  Annun- 
ciation and  the  Presentation  in  the  temple  ;  in  the  second  the 
Adoration  of  the  Magi,  and  the  Dispute  of  Jesus  with  the  doctors 

'  "  Laws  were  enacted  by  Constantine  (A.  D.  334  and  337)  to  promote  tlie  training 
of  architects,  and  to  grant  them  specific  exemptions,  as  well  as  to  painters,  sculptors, 
and  workers  in  mosaic.  In  A.  D.  375  the  emperors  Valentinian,  Valens,  and 
Gratian  promulgated  au  edict  granting  important  privileges  to  professors  of  paint- 
ing."    "Woltmann  and  Woermann :  History  of  Painting,  vol.  i,  p.  169. 

^  C.  J.  Hemans  claims  that  of  the  whole  mosaic  composition  in  Santa  Sabina  only 
these  two  figures,  representing  the  Jewish  and  Christian  covenants,  are  original. 
V.  Academy,  1874,  p.  415. 

*  Barbet  de  Jouy:  Les  Mosdiques  chretiennes,  etc.,  pp.  18,  19.  Forster:  Unter 
Italien,  Tp.  216.     Gerspach:  La  Mosdique,  pp.  47,  48.     See  Plate  I*. 

*  V.  Edmund  Venables:  Article  "Mosaics"  in  the  Dictionary  of  Christian  An- 
tiquities, vol.  ii,  p.  1327.  Also  Lord  Lindsay :  History  of  Christian  Art,  2d  edition, 
London,  1885,  vol.  i,  p.  264;  Vitet:  Etudes  sur  VHistoire  de  I'Art,  Paris,  1864, 
vol.  i,  p.  241. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS.  127 

in  the  temple.     In  the  first  division  of  the  third  zone  are  found  the 

Massacre  of  the  Infants  and  all  the  accomjjanying  circumstances  and 

persons — as  Herod,  his  guards  who  execute  his  orders,  and  a  group 

of  females  who  shield  their  little  children  in  their  arms.     The  second 

division  is  occupied  by  the  cities  of  Bethlehem  and  Jerusalem,  made 

sacred  by  the  birth  and  death  of  the  Saviour.     The  mosaics  which 

are  arranged  on  the  entablatures  on  either  side  of  the  main  nave  are 

given  to  the  illustration  of  Old  Testament  history.     By  destruction 

and  replacement,  the   original   forty-two   distinct  pictures    of   the 

series  have  been  reduced  to  twenty-seven.     The  first  series  begins 

in  the  upper  left  hand  portion  with  the  interview  of  Abraham  with 

Melchizedec,  and  terminates  with  the  history  of  Isaac  and  Jacob. 

On  the  right  hand  the  series  begins  with  the  finding  of  Moses,  and 

ends  with  the  battle  of  Beth-horon.     The  treatment  of  the  mosaics 

in  the  nave  is  far   superior  to  that  on   the  triumphal 

,,,,  .  .  ,..,  .  »    Their  teaching, 

arch.     Much  animation  and  spirit  characterize  some  oi 

the  figures.  The  presence  of  a  classical  freedom  and  excellence 
is  manifest  in  many  of  the  forms.  Yet  the  strong  biblical  char- 
acter of  these  mosaics  indicates  the  introduction  of  a  didactic 
principle  into  the  decoration  of  the  churches,  in  harmony  with  the 
teaching;-  of  the  more  influential  Christian  fathers.' 

Some  of  the  most  interesting  mosaics  of  Ravenna  must  also  be 
referred  to  this  century.  In  no  other  city  can  this  art  Mosaics  of  Ra- 
be  so  consecutively  studied  in  the  monuments.  They  venna. 
are  well-preserved,  and  have  suffered  fewer  changes  from  restora- 
tion. Moreover,  they  seem  to  have  been  arranged  as  an  integral 
part  of  the  architectural  plan,  rather  than  to  serve  the  purposes  of 
mere  decoration.  Nearly  all  of  them,  too,  were  constructed  upon 
classical  principles,  free  from  that  Byzantine  influence  which  a 
little  later  so  effectually  repressed  the  naturalness  of  art  ex- 
pression. 

The  earliest  mosaics  of  Ravenna*  are  preserved  in  the  baptistery 

'  For  a  description  see  Bunsen:  Basiliken  Roms,  Bd.  iii,  Th.  2,  pp.  262,  etc.  For 
good  views  see  Bunsen :  plates  ix,  x  ;  and  Garrucci :  Istoria,  etc.,  plates  ccxi-ccxxii. 
For  art  estimates  see  Vitet:  Histoire  de  Part,  vol.  i,  pp.  241-243;  Lord  Lindsay: 
Hist,  of  Christ.  Art,  vol.  i,  p.  265.  For  a  very  full  description  of  this  church  v. 
Valentini :  Lapatriacale  basilica  Liberiana.  This  is  one  of  four  treatises  on  the  four 
great  basilicas  of  Rome,  prepared  and  published  under  the  auspices  of  the  Roman 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts. 

'■*  For  the  mosaics  of  Ravenna  among  others  see  London  Times,  Sept.  25,  and  Dec. 
30,  1876.  Gerspach:  La  Mosaique.  Richter :  Die  Mosaiken  Ravennas,  Wien,  1878. 
Quast:  Die  alt-christlichen  Bauwerke  von  Ravenna,  Berlin,  1842.  Woltmann  and 
Woermaun :  Hist,  of  Painting,  vol.  i.  Texier  and  PuUan :  Les  ^glises  Byzantines. 
Labarte:  Histoire  des  arts  industriels,  etc.,  vol.  iv. 


128  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

of  the  church  formerly  called  Ecclesia  Ursiana,  now  San  Giovanni 
San  Giovanni  in  i^  fonte;  they  date  from  A,  D.  430.  The  building 
fonte.  is   octagonal,    surmounted   by   a   cupola.       The    span- 

drels of  the  lower  tier  of  arches  are  enriched  with  eisrht  noble 
figures  of  prophets  upon  a  background  of  gold,  and  decorated  with 
acanthus  leaves  and  scroll  work.  The  cupola  is  divided  into 
two  zones,  the  lower  of  which  is  ornamented  with  colonnaded 
churches,  throned  crosses,  altars,  chairs,  tombs  ;  the  upper  con- 
tains the  twelve  apostles,  who  circle  round  the  crowning  scene. 
The  apostles  ^^®  baptism  of  Christ  by  John  in  Jordan.  The  ac- 
and  the  baptism  tion  of  the  apostles,  as  they  advance  with  jeweled 
of  Christ.  crowns  toward  the  figure  of  Christ,  is  spirited  and  in 

the  style  of  the  best  classical  work.  The  Baptist,  a  strong,  half 
nude  figure,  pours  water  from  a  shell  upon  the  head  of  the  Saviour, 
who  stands  in  the  stream,  while  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
shape  of  a  dove  ratifies  the  sacrament.  The  one  incongruous  ele- 
ment is  the  representation  of  the  Jordan  by  a  river-god,  in  true 
mythological  style.  This  is  a  further  illustration  of  the  religious 
syncretism  which  was  so  widely  prevalent.     (See  Fig.  132.) 

Equally  interesting,  and  even  richer  in  mosaics,  is  the  mauso- 
Mausoieum  of  leum  of  Galla  Placidia,  built  in  A,  D.  440.  It  is  a 
Gaiia  Placidia.  church  in  the  form  of  a  Latin  cross,  and  is  now  known 
as  SS.  Nazario  e  Celso.  It  is  impossible  by  mere  description  to 
give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  magnificence  of  this  church.  Nearly 
the  entire  interior,  both  walls  and  ceiling,  is  covered  with  mosaics 
of  exceeding  richness  and  high  artistic  excellence.  They  can  be 
classified  under  neither  the  earlier  nor  later  school,  but  have  been 
justly  regarded  as  representing  a  transition  from  the  style  of  the 
earlier  catacombs  to  that  of  genuine  Byzantine  art.  Amid  the 
multitude  of  interesting  objects  two  figures  especially  arrest  atten- 
tion and  challenge  careful  study.  The  first  is  in  the  chief  lunette 
opposite  to  the  entrance.  It  is  that  of  a  man  of  earnest 
mien  striding  rapidly  along,  his  robe  flying  in  the  wind, 
bearing  a  cross  upon  his  shoulder  and  an  open  book  in  his  right 
hand.  Before  him  is  a  burning  grate;  behind,  a  closet,  where  rolls 
supposed  to  represent  the  gospels  are  seen.  The  old  reference  of 
this  to  Christ  now  finds  few  defenders,  since  it  is  essentially  differ- 
ent from  all  other  delineations  of  our  Lord  known  to  art.  The  refer- 
ence of  it  to  St.  Laurence  and  his  martyrdom  seems  to  be  the  most 
reasonable  interpretation  of  the  scene,'     The  second  notable  figure 

'  Woltmann  and  "Woermann :  Op.  cit.,  vol.  i,  p.  174.  Venables :  Article  "  Mo- 
saics "  in  Dictionary  of  Christian  Antiquities.  Contra,  Gerspach  :  LaMosaique,  p.  50, 
who  regards  it  a  picture  of  Christ.     Also  Quast:   Op.  cit.,  pp.  14,  15. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS.  139 

of  this  church  is  that  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  found  in  the  arch 
over  the  entrance.  He  sits  in  the  midst  of  a  somewhat  The  Good  shep- 
rugged  landscape,  clad  in  a  golden  tunic  and  purple  iierd. 
mantle,  holding  in  one  hand  a  shepherd's  staff  which  terminates 
in  a  cross,  while  the  other  is  stretched  across  the  breast  to  caress 
a  lamb.  The  face  is  that  of  a  young  and  beardless  man,  the  hair  is 
long  and  flowing,  and  the  head  encircled  with  the  nimbus.  The 
general  mien  is  dignified,  and  the  figure  seems  to  express  the  per- 
sonality, as  well  as  to  symbolize  the  office,  of  the  Redeemer.  The 
animals  and  plants  are  of  inferior  style,  indicating  little  sympathy 
with  a  purely  naturalistic  treatment.^  The  mosaics  of  this  church 
are  exceedingly  important  in  revealing  the  art  tendencies  and  the 
character  of  the  religious  and  dogmatic  thought  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury. 

Some  instructive  mosaics  are  still  preserved  in  the  churches  of 
San  Lorenzo  and  San  Ambrogio  in  Milan.     The  Christ   ^  ^ 

^  X  other   mosaics 

m  the  chapel  of  San  Aquilino  (San  Lorenzo)  is  of  of  the  fifth  cen- 
youthful  appearance,  beardless,  and  in  some  features  *"'"^" 
suggests  the  type  found  in  the  earlier  catacombs.  There  is  an 
almost  entire  absence  of  Byzantine  influence.  The  figures  of  Christ 
and  the  apostles  are  varied  in  expression  and  attitude,  and  the 
landscape  is  treated  with  unusual  naturalness.  The  A.  fi.  in  the 
cruciform  nimbus  encircling  the  head  of  Christ  leaves  no  doubt 
respecting  the  personage  hei*e  represented. 

The  mosaics  in  the  chapel  of  San  Victor  (San  Ambrogio)  are 
of  a  high  order  of  merit.  They  have  by  some  archaeologists 
been  assigned  to  the  fifth  century.*  The  treatment  of  the  wreath 
encircling  the  head  of  San  Victor  is  skilful,  and  the  balancing  of 
the  parts  by  the  figures  of  the  evangelists  is  artistic  and  pleasing. 

The  beautiful  chapel  of  the  archbishop's  palace  in  Ravenna, 
which  still  survives,  has  usually  been  ascribed  to  Bishop  Peter  Chry- 
sologus.  This  view  would  regard  it  as  a  work  of  about  the  middle 
of  the  fifth  century.^  The  interior  arrangement  is  quite  similar  to 
that  of  SS.  Nazario  e   Celso   of    the  same  period   (v.    Fig.    120). 

'  Compare  the  representation  of  vine  ornamentation  in  the  dome-vaulting  of  this 
church.  Fig.  41,  with  the  frescos  of  Santa  Domitilla,  Figs.  1  and  2. 

^  The  chronology  of  these  mosaics  has  been  a  matter  on  which  archasologists  and 
historians  of  art  have  widely  differed.  Here,  as  in  so  many  other  cases,  may  not  the 
failure  to  discriminate  with  sufficient  care  between  the  original  parts  and  the  res- 
torations be  one  reason  of  this  wide  divergence  of  opinion  ?  It  is  certainly  very 
difficult  to  refer  the  entire  work  of  these  mosaics  to  the  fifth  century.  Some 
portions  point  rather  to  the  eight  or  ninth  century. 

3  Schnaase:    Op.  at,  Bd.  iii,  s.  206. 


130  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

Under  the  dome  of  this  chaj^el  are  mosaic  medallions  of  Christ  and 
six  of  the  apostles,  three  on  either  side,  and  in  the  side  arches  on 
either  side  are  like  medallions  of  six  male  and  six  female  saints. 
Fig.  42  represents  the  mosaic  of  Christ.     The  jeweled   corona  in 


Fig.  42.— Mosaic  of  Ctirist  in  the  archbisliup's  palace,  Ravenna.    Fifth  or  sixth  century. 

the  form  of  a  Greek  cross,  the  treatment  of  the  hair,  and  the 
general  facial  expx'ession  are  quite  unique.  Vigorous  young  man- 
hood is  here  expressed,  yet  the  cast  of  countenance  is  somewhat 
sedate;  the  drawing  is  accurate,  the  coloring  appropriate.  A  some- 
what striking  red  tints  the  cheeks,  while  a  brilliant  white  sets  off 
the  eyes  and  higher  lights.  As  a  whole  this  mosaic  scarcely  con- 
forms to  any  of  the  known  types  of  Christ.* 

After  the  destructive  invasions  and  the  political  disruptions  of 
Mosaics  of  the  the  fifth  century,  art  activity  at  Rome  experienced  a 
sixth  century,  very  considerable  revival.  More  clearly  than  ever 
before  the  power  of  the  Church  in  preserving  the  elements  of  civi- 
lization in  the  midst  of  threatened  barbarism  is  seen.  Of  the  mo- 
saics of  the  sixth  century  we  can  refer  only  to  some  of  the  more 
important.  Well  preserved  examples  are  found  in  Rome,  Ravenna, 
Parenzo  in  Istria,  and  Constantinople. 

ss.  cosmas  and  The  most  important  mosaic  monuments  of  this  cen- 
Damian.  tury  at  Rome  are  preserved  in  the  Church  of  SS.  Cosmas 

e  Damiano,  which  was  built  by  Felix  VI.,  A.  D.  526-530  ;  they  are 

'  Schnaase :  I.  c. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS.  131 

in  the  apse  and  triumphal  arcli.  These  represent  three  distinct 
scenes  or  conceptions.  On  the  triumphal  arch  the  apocalyptic  vision 
of  the  Lamb  amidst  the  seven  churches  is  pictured.  A  lamb,  sur- 
mounted by  a  cross,  rests  upon  a  jeweled  altar,  on  either  side  of 
which  are  the  golden  candlesticks.  Beyond  these,  right  and  left, 
are  two  angels,  while  still  further  toward  each  extreme  are  symbols 
of  the  Evangelists.  The  most  elaborate  and  imposing  work  is  in  the 
apse  (Fig.  43).  The  central  figure  here  is  Christ,  who  is 
represented  as  floating  on  fleecy  clouds.  He  extends  the 
right  hand  in  benediction,  while  in  the  left  he  holds  a  roll — the  sym- 
bol of  authoritative  teaching.  The  head  is  nimbused,  the  face 
bearded,  the  drapery  rich  and  flowing,  and  the  mien  severely  majestic. 
On  the  right  (spectator's)  of  the  main  figure  is  Peter  leading  forward 
St.  Cosmas,  who  bears  a  crown  indicative  of  martyrdom  ;  beyond 
is  St.  Theodore.  On  the  left  Paul  in  like  manner  is  leading  St. 
Damian,  who  also  bears  a  martyr  crown,  while  beyond  is  Felix,  the 
founder  of  the  Church.  The  extremities  are  occupied  by  palm  trees, 
on  one  of  which  is  perched  the  phoenix,  symbol  of  immortality.  In 
a  narrow  zone  below,  the  third  scene  is  depicted.  A  The  lower 
nimbused  lamb  stands  upon  a  hill  or  mountain,  from  ^o^''- 
whose  base  flow  four  rivers  marked  by  their  names.'  On  either 
hand,  pressing  toward  the  central  figure,  are  six  lambs,  representing 
the  twelve  apostles,  while  on  the  extremes  the  sacred  cities  Jerusa- 
lem and  Bethlehem  appear.  The  entire  mosaic,  in  each  of  its  three 
scenes,  is  full  of  naturalness  and  life,  and  is  a  remarkable  example 
of  the  recuperative  art  power  of  the  Church. 

A  class  of  mosaics  of  exceeding  richness  and  value  in  Ravenna 
and  Constantinople  must  be  referred  to  the  sixth  century.  The 
reign  of  Justinian  was  powerful  in  its  influence  on  Church  and  State. 
The  convenient  codification  of  the  civil  law  was  only  a  single  illus- 
tration of  the  painstaking  care  of  this  ruler  for  the  varied  interests  of 
the  empire.  Among  the  best  preserved  and  most  instructive  mosaics 
of  the  sixth  century  are  those  of  the  Church  of  San  Apollinare  Nuovo, 
in  Ravenna.'  The  friezes  on  either  side  of  the  nave  are  occupied  by 
triumphal  processions  of  holy  men  and  women.  On  the  south  side 
martyrs  and  confessors,  chiefly  of  the  Ravenna  church,  clad  in  white 
garments,  press  toward  the  tribune  to  present  their  crowns  to  Christ, 
who  is  enthroned,  and  attended  by  four  angels.      The   figure  of 

'  Tliese  are  not  shown  in  the  cut. 

^  V.  d'Agincourt:  Architecture,  p.  xvii,  17-22,  who  gives  ground  plan,  section,  and 
a  few  details  of  this  churcli.  Quast :  Die  alt-christliche  Bauwerke  von  Ravenna, 
as.  19,  20,  Taf.  vii.  Garrucci :  Storia  delV  art  criat.,  iv,  Tav.  ccxlii-cclii.  Richter: 
Die  Mosaiken  von  Ravenna,  1878,  s.  69. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS. 


135 


Christ  (a  partial  restoration)  is  most  imposing  {v.  Fig.  44),  The 
expression  is  dignified,  the  face  bearded,  the  hair  long  and  flowing, 
the  head  encircled  with  the  cruciform  nimbus,  and  the  right  hand  in- 
dicative of  the  teaching  office.  On  the  opposite  or  north  frieze  is  a 
similar  procession  of  holy  women  clad  in  rich  attire,  bearing  crowns, 
passing  from  the  city 
of  Classe  to  join  the 
Magi  who  reverently 
offer  their  gifts  to  the 
Holy  Child  sitting 
upon  the  lap  of  Mary, 
also  enthroned  and  at- 
tended by  four  angels 
bearing  sceptres  in  their 
hands.  Fig.  43^  gives  an 
idea  of  the  richness  and 
variety  of  these  mosaics. 
Here  are  represented 
five  prophets,  a  part  of 
the  procession  of  women, 
and  the  visit  of  the 
Magi.  Fig.  97  repre- 
sents a  portion  of  the 
north  frieze.  This  helps 
us  also  to  understand 
the  arrangement  of  the 
mosaics  between  the  windows  and  in  the  cornice  above,  also  the 
medallions  in  the  spandrels  of  the  arches.  The  peculiar  relations  of 
Mother  and  Child  in  this  mosaic,  especially  their  like  attitude  in 
the  act  of  blessing,  would  suggest  that  the  cultus  of  Mary,  which 
soon  afterward  exalted  the  Mother  above  the  Son,  had  already 
made  considerable  progress.^ 

Interesting  mosaics  are  also  found  in  other  churches  of  Ravenna, 
as  Santa  Maria  in  Cosmedin,  San  Vitale  (the  arrangement  of  whose 
mosaics  can  be  seen  from  Figs.  107,  109),  and  San  Apollinare  in 
Classe  {v.  Fig.  99). 

In  extent  and  richness  the  mosaics  of  St.  Sophia  were  entirely 
worthy  of  the  grandest  church  of  the  Byzantine  Empire.  The  mag- 
nificent pavements  and  dados  of  richly  variegated  marble  found 
their  counterpart  in  the  brilliancy  and  perfection  of  the  mosaics 
upon  the  vast  and  varied  expanses  of  ceiling  and  dome.     The  his- 

'  Qnast:  Die  alt-christUchen  Bawwerke  von  Ravmna,  s.  20,  also  Taf.  vii,  Fig- 
ures 3,  5. 


Fig.  44.— Mosaic  of  Christ  in  San  Apollinare  Nuovo,  Ra- 
venna.   Sixth  century. 


136  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

toric  value  of  these  monuments  is  somewhat  lessened  by  the  uncer- 
tainty of  their  age.'  The  repeated  attempts  of  the  iconoclastic 
Mussulman  to  obliterate  the  mosaics  by  removing  the  tesserae, 
and  by  covering  the  whole  with  coats  of  whitewash,  greatly 
marred  their  original  incomparable  beauty.  The  repairs  of  this 
church,  under  the  direction  of  the  Italian  architect  Fossati,  gave 
opportunity  for  careful  drawings  of  the  parts  which  have  survived,' 
These  mosaics  differ  from  those  of  Galla  Placidia  of  Ravenna,  Santa 
Pudenziana  of  Rome,  and  others,  in  that  there  is  little  attempt  at 
pictorial  effect  or  perspective.  They  are  for  the  most  part  isolated 
figures  of  prophets  or  saints,  generally  of  great  dignity,  with  the 
attendant  ornamentation  of  vines,  borders,  flowers,  etc.  The  fixed- 
ness of  type  which  later  characterized  nearly  all  the  pictorial  art  of 
the  East  is  not  prominent  in  these  mosaics  of  St.  Sophia.  The 
adornments  of  the  panels,  of  the  spandrels  of  the  arches,  etc.,  are 
free  and  cheerful.  In  the  sections  of  the  vast  dome  the  outlines  of 
four  colossal  figures  of  seraphs  with  overshadowing  wings  are  still 
seen.^  They  have  a  vigor  and  freshness  of  treatment  indicative  of 
an  age  of  considerable  artistic  freedom.  Also  the  mosaics  of  the 
prophets  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  Daniel,  exhibit  much 
skill  in  the  origination  of  independent  forms  and  expression,  while 
their  variety  of  attitude  argues  wholesome  exemption  of  the 
artist  from  the  rigid  ecclesiastical  art  canons  which  later  became 
imperative. 

The  immense  mosaic  picture  (y.  Fig.  45)  of  Christ,  with  the 
prostrate  emperor  and  the  medallion  busts  of  Mary  and  an  angel 
(St.  Michael?),  is  believed  to  be  of  later  origin.  This  is  shown  by 
the  style  and  accessories  of  the  composition.  Christ,  seated  on  a 
magnificent  throne,  raises  his  right  hand  in  the  attitude  of  blessing 
or  teaching,  while  the  left  supports  the  open  book.  His  head  is 
surrounded  by  the  nimbus,  the  face  is  bearded,  the  whole  mien  im- 
pressive. Before  him,  in  the  attitude  of  servile  prostration,  is 
the  emperor,*  clad  in  most  gorgeous  attire,  with  nimbused  head  and 

'  Woltmann  and  "Woermaun :  History  of  Painting,  vol.  i,  pp.  233,  refer  these 
mosaics  to  the  reign  of  Basil  the  Macedonian,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  ninth  century. 
Evidently  they  are  of  various  dates,  but  some  bear  evidence  of  an  earlier  origin  than 
these  authorities  suppose. 

'  Fossati :  Aya  Sofia,  Constantinople,  as  recently  restored  by  order  of  H.  M.  the 
Sultan,  Abdul  Mejid.  London,  1852.  Salzenberg:  Alt-christliche  Baudenkmale  von 
Coiistantinople,  with  magnificent  plates. 

'  See  Fig.  116,  a  section  of  St.  Sophia,  where  two  of  these  are  shown. 

♦Opinions  relative  to  tlie  sovereign  here  represented  are  various.  Some  (Wolt- 
mann and  Woermann  and  others)  have  seen  in  it  Basil  L,  who  restored  the  western 
apse  of  the  church   into  whicli  this  entrance  leads ;  others  (Venables,  e<  ai.)  call  it 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTINGS  AND  MOSAICS.  137 

jeweled  crown.  Oriental  taste  is  prominent,  and  art  decadence 
is  here  painfully  manifest.  The  subjection  of  the  temporal  to  the 
spiritual  power  is  plainly  taught  by  this  mosaic  ;  the  supremacy 
of  the  "  Divine  Wisdom,"  to  whom  the  gorgeous  temple  was  dedi- 
cated, is  most  conspicuous.    The  other  mosaics  of  this  church,  many 


Fig.  45. — Mosaic  of  Christ  from  bt.  boptiia,  Constantinople. 

of  which  are  of  exquisite  workmanship  but  of  varied  artistic  merit, 
cannot  here  be  described.  Each  has  a  valuable  lesson  for  the  his- 
torian of  art  and  for  the  student  of  the  history  of  the  Greek 
Church. 

Nearly  contemporaneous  with  St.  Sophia  at  Constantinople  is  St. 
Sophia  of  Thessalonica.  An  immense  expanse  of  mosaics,  said  to 
cover  nearly  six  hundred  square  yards,  represents  the  ascension. 
The  parts  in  the  center  of  the  dome  have  suffered  much.  This  was 
occupied  by  the  ascending  Christ,  attended  by  angels.  The  other 
prominent  personages  were  the  Virgin  and  the  apostles,  wrought 
out  in  colossal  figures  moi'e  than  twelve  feet  high.  Texier  and 
Pullan'  are  of  the  opinion  that  these  mosaics  were  produced  before 
the  influence  of  ecclesiastical  art  traditions  had  checked  the  freedom 
of  the  Eastern  artisans.  They  notice  the  survival  of  creative  and 
technic  power  in  the  variety  of  posture  and  of  the  facial  expression 
in  the  figures.  Instead  of  the  stiff  uniformity  of  a  later  period, 
the  Virgin  and  the  two  angels  (one  on  either  side), who  address  the 
apostles,  have  each  decided  personal  characteristics.  The  treatment 
IS  vigorous,  and  the  handling  of  the  colors  in  the  drapery,  etc.,  is 

Constantine  Pogonatus ;  while  still  others  (Gerspach,  et  al)  call  it  Justinian.  The 
general  style  of  this  figure  in  expression  and  dress  is  so  different  from  well  known 
pictures  of  Justinian  elsewhere  preserved  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  believe  that  it 
is  intended  for  this  emperor. 

'  Sfjlises  Byzantines,  plates  xl,  xli,  pp.  142-144. 


13B  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

free  and  pleasing.  Instead  of  the  fixed  attitude  of  the  eighth  and 
ninth  centuries,  each  one  of  the  apostles  has  an  individuality  ;  some 
look  upward  into  heaven,  others  with  downcast  face  are  in  prayerful 
meditation,  while  others  raise  the  hands  in  expression  of  surprise.' 

Considerable  mosaic  work  is  also  found  in  the  apse  of  St.  Cath- 
arine's on  Mount  Sinai.  The  subjects  have  been  variously  described 
by  travellers.  The  transfiguration,  with  figures  of  Christ,  Moses, 
and  Elias,  is  the  central  scene.  The  accompanying  figures  of 
prophets,  apostles,  and  saints,  medallion  busts  of  Justinian  and 
Theodora,  and  the  oft-repeated  scenes  of  Moses  at  the  burning  bush 
and  the  receiving  of  the  tables  of  the  law,  contain  little  that  is 
peculiar.*^ 

'  There  seems  to  be  a  very  intimate  connection  between  this  church  and  St. 
Sophia  at  Constantinople. 

^  No  tliorough  study  of  tliese  has  yet  been  made  by  competent  specialists.  The 
want  of  trustwortliy  photographs  or  plates  leaves  the  chronology  and  technical  exe- 
cution, as  well  as  the  archgeological  value,  of  these  mosaics  undetermined.  Many  val- 
uable articles  upon  Christian  mosaics  have  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  the 
European  reviews.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  supply  the  lack  of  monuments  by 
the  literary  references  to  many  now  lost  mosaics.  Among  the  most  skilful  and  suc- 
cessful of  these  workers  must  be  reckoned  Eugene  Miintz  of  Paris,  and  Professor 
Frothingham  of  Princeton  University. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  SCULPTURE.  139 


CHAPTER  V. 

EARLY  CHRISTIAN  SCULPTURE. 

We  have  before  (Book  i,  chap,  ii)  traced  the  effect  of  the  Jewish 
law  and  of  the  Semitic  imagination  upon  the  cultivation  of  the  arts 
of  form  ;  also  the  influence  of  these  factors  in  the  development  of 
the  Christian  art  of  the  first  two  centuries. 

The  avoidance  of  the  seductive  power  of  beauty,  as  embodied  in 
the  matchless  creations  of  the  heathen  artists,  and  of  art  in  its  asso- 
ciations with   a   corrupting  polytheism,  was  most   manifest   with 

respect  to  sculpture.'     As  before  noticed,  the  pictures   „ 

^  ^  '  ^  Reasons  of  the 

of  Christ  were  more  readily  tolerated  than  his  presenta-   seeming  hostii- 
tion  in  free  statuary.     This  was  probably  due  to  the  I'^y'^oart. 
fact  that  sculpture  is  the  most  materializing  of  all  the  fine  arts.     It 
was  most  employed  in  connection  with  the  pagan  cultus,  and  was 
therefore  most  threatening  to  the  purity  of  a  monotheistic  faith. 

There  was  no  agreement  in  the  traditions  of  the  early  Church  re- 
specting Christ's  physical   characteristics  and   appear-  j^gj^g^^g  ^^  ^ 
ance.     Moreover,    when   the    Christian   Church  was  in   cadence  of 
circumstances  favorable  to  the  cultivation  of   the  fine  s'^^^'p'^^i'^- 
arts,  sculpture,  which  had  formerly  been  almost  the  foremost  art 
among  the   Greeks,  had  fallen  into  a  condition  of  sad  decadence,* 
and  painting  had  assumed  the   chief  prominence.     Hence  few,  if 
any,  works  of  Christian  sculpture  of  an  earlier  date  than  the  last 
of  the  third  or  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  have  been  pre- 
served to  our  day.     Indeed,  the  number  of  free  statues  Noprotraitures 
of    early    Christian     origin     is     exceptionally     small.   °^  Christ. 
Scarcely  a  half  dozen  of  Christ  have  survived  from  the  first  five 

'  "We  have  already  said  that  this  seeming  hostility  of  some  of  the  Christian  fathers 
to  the  patronage  and  production  of  works  of  art  was  not  due  to  a  lack  of  {esthetic 
feeling,  but  it  arose  from  fear  of  the  contaminating  influence  of  heathen  worship. 
The  same  tendency  is  noticed  from  time  to  time  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  The 
denunciations  of  the  revived  heathenism  in  the  Italian  painting  at  the  close  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  by  Savonarola,  produced  a  marked  revolution  in  the  style  of  some 
of  the  great  painters  of  the  period.  A  like  result  is  noticed  in  the  attempts  of 
Zwinglius,  Calvin,  and  others  in  removing  statues  from  the  churches,  v.  Lecky: 
Eist.  of  Rationalism,  vol.  i,  pp.  259,  260;  and  Grueneisen:  De  Protestantismo  artibus 
haud  infesto. 

'  Labarte:  Histoire  des  art';  indusfriels,  tom.  i,  p.  12. 


140 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


centuries.  While  Eusebius'  testifies  to  having  seen  at  Caesarea 
Phihppi  a  statue  of  Christ  extending  his  hand  toward  the  woman 
having  an  issue  of  blood,  to  cure  her,  and  Philostorgius**  speaks 
of  its  being  destroyed  under  Julian,  it  is  generally  agreed  that 
the  traditions  respecting  the  early  portraitures  of  Christ,  pictorial 
or  plastic,  have  very  slender  support.  The  free  statues  which 
remain  are  manifestly  not  designed  for  portraitures,  but  are  of  a 
symbolic  character.  In  all  alike  Christ  is  repi-esented  as  the  Good 
Shepherd  "who  careth  for  the  sheep."  The  dress  is  that  of  the 
shepherd  of  the  period,  the  ordinary  tunic;  the  feet  are  either 
naked  or  sandaled,  while  the  implements  of  the  shepherd's  vocation, 
the  purse  and  the  staff,  are  sometimes  present. 

Figs.  46  and  48  are  representations  of  the  finest  and  best  preserved 

of  these  free  statuettes."  It  is  now 
in  the  Lateran  Museum  at  Rome. 
It  has  been  restored  in  parts.  The 
spirit    and    naturalness    of  „.        „       , 

i  TheGood 

the  work  are  exceptionally  Shepherd  in 
fine,    and    readily   suggest  free  statuary. 
a  classic  sympathy  and  origin. 

A  second  example  is  given  in  Fig.  47. 
The  original  is  also  in  the  Lateran 
Museum.  The  execution  is  rude,  and 
the  general  tone  of  the  work  is  far  in- 
ferior to  that  represented  by  Fig.  46. 
The  general  spirit  of  the  biblical 
symbol  is,  however,  fully  preserved. 
Instead  of  the  shepherd's  purse,  as  in 
Fig.  46,  here  is  the  shepherd's  staff  or 
crook.^ 

There  are  two  other  statuettes,  one 
preserved  in  the  church  museum  of  the 
College  of  Rome,  the  other  in  the 
basilica  San  Clemente,  which  differ  little  in  general  art  character  from 
the  last,  and  are  in  close  aftiliation  with  it  in  subject  and  spirit.     Hub- 


Fig.  46.- statuette  of  the  Good  Shep 
herd.    Lateran  Museum. 


'  Eist  Eccles.,  vii,  18. 

*  Hist.  Eccles.,  vii,  2. 

^  These  and  all  other  autotypes  used  in  this  chapter  are  taken  by  permission  from 
the  excellent  work  of  Th.  Roller:  Les  Catacombes  de  Rome.  "We  have  preferred 
these  impressions  from  photographs  to  elaborate  engravings,  since  they  give  to  the 
lay  reader  a  juster  idea  of  the  original  objects.  With  great  generosity,  M.  Roller 
placed  all  his  plates  at  the  disposal  of  the  author  of  this  handbook. 

''  See  Frontispiece. 


1 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  SCULPTURE. 


141 


ner'  has  described  a  small  statue  of  the  Good  Shepherd  found  in 
Seville,  Spain,  The  figure  of  the  lamb  is  wanting.  The  origin  and 
chronology  are  uncertain,  although 
he  inclines  to  place  it  near  the  close 
of  the  fourth  century. 

The  general  artistic  treatment  of 
these  statues  closely  conforms  to  the 
contemporary  heathen  art ;  never- 
theless, in  all  alike  the  subject  is 
distinctively  Christian :  the  office 
work  of  the  Good  Shepherd  in  bring- 
ing back  to  the  fold  the  lost  sheep.^ 
The  difference  between  these  and 
the  statues  of  the  ram-bearing  Mer- 
cury, Hermes-Kriophoros,  is  man- 
Difference  of  i^est.  Invariably  a  full 
the  Good  shep-  drapery  is  found  in  the 
ram-b  earing  statues  of  the  Good  Shep- 
Mercury.  ]jerd,   while    the   pagan 

Kriophori  have  complete  or  partial 
nudity  as  a  characteristic  feature.^ 
This  is  well  illustrated  by  comparing  Figs.  48  and  49.^ 

Another  work,  claimed  by  some  able  writers  to  be  of  Christian 

origin,  is  the  celebrated  bronze  statue  of  St.  Peter,  now  „,.,    ^ 

®     ' .  .  '  The  bronze 

found  in  the  middle  nave  of  St.  Peter's,  Rome.  Opin-  statue  of  st. 
ions  repecting  its  origin,  chronology,  and  motive  have  ^'^*®^' 
been  various  and  sometimes  contradictory.  The  statue  is  certainly 
very  imposing,  and,  if  genuine,  must  be  regarded  as  by  far  the  most 
important  plastic  work  of  the  early  Christian  centuries.  The 
apostle  is  represented  seated  in  a  chair  of  Roman  style,  uplifting 
the  right  hand  in  the  attitude  of  teaching.  The  head  is  firmly  set ; 
the  hair  is  thick  and  curled,  and  is  of  the  type  traditionally 
ascribed  to  Peter,  which  is  met  upon  early  sarcophagi  and  in  fres- 
cos from  the  catacombs.  The  folds  of  the  drapery  are  not  unworthy 
the  best  classic  period,  while  the  general  pose  is  equal  to  that  of  the 


Fig.  47.— Good  Shepherd  with  crook  or 
staff.    Lateran  Museum. 


1  Die  antiken  Bildwerke  von  Madrid,  Berlin,  1862,  s.  324. 

2  V.  Th.  Roller :  Les  Catacombes  de  Rome,  vol.  i,  p.  265. 

^Chanot:  In  the  Gazette  Archeoloffi<jue,  1878,  pp.  17,  et  seq.,  and  pp.  100,  et  seq. 
We  have  elsewhere  more  fully  examined  these  differences — Book  i,  chap.  iii.  v.  also 
Veyries :  Les  Figures  Criophores  dans  Part  grec,  Vart  greco-romain  et  Vart  ckrelien, 
Paris,  1884,  pp.  61-81,  especially  pp.  80,  81. 

*  Dr.  J.   P.   Kirsch :    "  Le  Bon  Pasteur "  sur  les  monuments  chretiens  de  Salone. 
Ephemeris  Solonitana,  1894. 
11 


142 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


more  celebrated  works  of  the  fourth  century.  Every  part  of  the 
statue  indicates  a  careful  adherence  to  some  antique  model,  and 
therefore  evinces  little  originality  of  treatment.'  The  key  in  the 
left  hand  is  an  addition  of  a  later  period,  probably  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 


Fig.  48. —  The  Good  Shepherd. 
To  compare  with  Hermes-Kriophoros, 
Fig.  49. 


Fig.  49.  —  Hermes-Kriophoros 
from  Wilton  House.  To  compare 
with  Fig  47. 


Another  work  in  free  sculpture  is  the  statue  of  St.  Hippolytus, 
now  preserved  in  the  Lateran  Museum,  Fig.  50.  It  was  discovered 
in  1551.  Only  the  lower  part  of  the  figure  and  the  chair  are  orig- 
inal, the  other  parts  being  modern  restorations.  In  its  statue  of  st. 
present  restored  form  it  represents  St.  Hippolytus  seated  Hippoiytus. 
on  a  cathedra,  clad  in  the  garb  usual  to  the  ancient  philosophers, 

'  Luebke:  History  of  Sculptu7-e,  vol.  i,  p.  337.     It  is  for  this  and  other  reasons  that 
the  Christian  origin  and  subject  of  the  statue  have  been  stoutly  denied. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  SCULPTURE. 


143 


holding  in  his  left  hand  a  book  upon  which  rests  the  right  elbow. 
The  Canon  Paschalis^  or  table  for  calculating  Easter,  which  he  is 


Fig.  50.— Restored  statue  of  Hippolytus. 

said  to  have  invented,  is  engraved  in  Greek  characters  on  one  side 
of  the  chair  ;  on  the  other  is  a  partial  list  of  his  writings.     The  re- 


144  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

stored  statue  is  a  work  of  great  dignity  and  excellence.  As  m  the 
case  of  the  statue  of  St.  Peter,  there  has  been  much  controversy- 
respecting  its  Christian  origin.  There  seems  to  be  sufficient 
Its  Christian  ^©ason,  however,  for  believing  that  it  cannot  be  of  a 
origin  q  u  e  s-  later  date  than  the  sixth  century,  while,  from  artistic 
tioned.  considerations,  some  able  archaeologists  are  led  to  place 

it  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  third,  or  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
century.  We  have  not  space  to  enter  into  the  examination  of  these 
arguments.' 

The  general  type  of  Christ  found  in  Christian  sculpture  is  rather 
that  of  the  early  Christian  frescos,  and  seems  to  conform  more  closely 
to  the  pagan  conception  of  deity,  that  is,  that  divinity  must  be  rep- 
Tvne  of  Christ  I'^^ented  under  the  form  of  a  beautiful  and  vigorous 
i  n  Christian  manhood.  The  historic  scenes  are  iisually  realistic.  The 
sculpture.  lessons  are  for  the  most  part  easily  understood  ;  mystery 

and  an  esoteric  exclusiveness  are  seldom  suggested.  Sometimes  a  pur- 
pose to  depict  scenes  in  the  order  of  their  historic  develo^^ment,  or  of 
their  dogmatic  connection,  is  apparent ;  at  other  times  the  principle 
of  artistic  grouping  or  balancing  seems  dominant.  Into  some  of 
the  most  noted  sarcophagi  an  architectural  principle  is  introduced, 
The  principles  whereby  the  surface  is  divided  into  sections  by  means 
chriftlfm  ^°  ^^  pillars  which  support  an  ornamental  entablature. 
sculpture.  Upon  these  surfaces  are  found  inscriptions  or  figures  in 
relief.  Sometimes  the  space  is  divided  into  zones,  in  each  of  which 
a  progressive  history  or  a  rich  symbolism  may  be  found. 

The  timid  caution  which  influenced  the  Christian  fathers  to  in- 
dulge but  sparingly  in  the  use  of  free  statuary  was  not  cherished 
respecting  these  works  in  relief.  Fi'om  the  first  part  of  the  fourth 
century  the  sculptures  on  burial  monuments  are  numerous.  In 
The  Christian  general  style  they  adhere  quite  closely  to  the  contem- 

sarcophagi  porary  pagan  art.  In  the  distribution  of  motives,  in  the 
have  little  ar-    ^  i  f   i         •  p  it  •  i     i 

tistic  original-  pose  and  balancmg  of  parts  to  make  a  harmonious  whole, 

^^y-  and  in  the  character  of  their  technique,  the  Christian 

sarcophagi  can  claim  little  originality.     The  marked  difference  is  in 

But     embody  the  changed  cycle  of  the  embodied  thought.     In  this 

new  thought,     respect  they  are  in  striking  contrast  with  similar  pagan 

monuments.    Nevertheless  the  subjects  sculptured  on  these  sarcoph- 

'Among  many  see  Bucher:  In  Migne's  edition  of  the  works  of  St.  Hippolytus. 
Engravings,  giving  both  side  views  of  the  statue  and  the  text  of  the  Canon  Paschalis 
are  there  given,  and  Bucher  examines  the  content  of  the  Canon  itself.  Bunsen : 
Hippolytus  und  seine  Zeii.,  Ite  Abth.,  ss.  163,  164.  Northcote  and  Brownlow:  Roma 
Sotterranea,  2d  ed.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  262-265.  Appell:  Monuments  of  Early  Christian  Art 
p.  5. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  SCULPTURE.  145 

agi  are  very  like  those  of  the  frescos  and  mosaics.  Here,  too,  is  found 
a  rich  symbolism  ;  here  are  seen  the  suggestive  biblical  type  and 
antitype,  as  well  as  the  instructive  Scrij^ture  history.  There  is  hardly 
a  scene  that  has  not  already  been  met  in  the  discussion  of  Christian 
painting.  The  creation  of  our  first  parents,  the  temptation  by  the 
serpent,  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  Moses  in  the  presence  of  the  burning 
bush,  or  striking  water  from  the  rock,  the  history  of  Jonah,  the 
three  Hebrew  worthies  in  the  burning  furnace,  Daniel  in  the  lion's 
den,  and  sometimes  the  translation  of  Elijah,  are  the  chief  subjects 
from  the  Old  Testament  history;  while  the  various  benevolent  works 
of  Christ,  the  first  miracle  in  Cana  of  Galilee,  the  multiplication  of 
the  loaves,  the  healing  of  the  paralytic,  the  opening  of  the  eyes  of 
the  blind,  the  cure  of  the  Avoman  with  the  issue  of  blood,  and  the 
raising  of  Lazarus  are  the  favorite  scenes  from  the  New  Testament. 
Incidents  in  the  life  of  Christ,  the  nativity,  the  teaching  of  the  dis- 
ciples, the  arrest,  the  trial,  the  denial  by  Peter,  the  handwashing  by 
Pilate,  the  resurrection,  and  probably  the  ascension  are  also  found 
sculptured  on  these  burial  monuments.  Representations  of  the 
crucifixion  are  for  the  most  part  avoided  during  the  first  four  and 
a  half  centuries ;  also  the  other  scenes  of  special  suffering  in  the 
life  of  our  Lord.  The  scope  of  these  sculptures,  as  well  as  their  art 
value,  can  best  be  learned  from  a  few  examples. 

Fig.  51  represents  one  of  the  older  Christian  sarcophagi.  The 
joyous  scene  of  the  vintage,  the  pastoral  simplicity  shown  in  the 
free  association  of  the  genii  with  the  animal  world,  the  rich  luxuri- 
ance of  the  vine  and  its  fruit,  suggest  a  decorative  rather  than  a 
symbolic  principle,  yet  the  peculiarities  of  the  figures  bearing  the 
sheep  clearly  prove  them  to  be  designed  for  the  Good  Shepherd  and 
not  for  representations  of  the  ram-bearing  Mercury.  While,  there- 
fore, the  vintage  scenes  may  be  regarded  as  mainly  decorative,  there 
may  have  been  a  reference  to  the  symbol  of  the  vine  and  its  branches, 
and  to  the  joys  of  those  who  are  under  the  care  and  guidance  of  the 
Good  Shepherd.  The  artistic  treatment  points  to  an  origin  prior  to 
the  decadence  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries. 

The  translation  of  Elijah  is  a  subject  of  occasional  occurrence  in 
early  Christian  art.  We  have  already  noticed  its  resemblance  to 
heathen  representations  of  the  sun-god  and  his  chariot,  but  the  Chris- 
tian character  of  this  (Fig.  52)  and  of  a  similar  sarcophagus  given  in 
Bosio's  work  cannot  be  doubted.  A  fresco  of  the  same  scene  is  found 
in  the  catacomb  of  SS.  Nereus  and  Achilles,  and  it  reappears  on  some 
of  the  sarcophagi  of  Aries.  The  main  figures  are  understood  with- 
out difficulty:  the  ascending  prophet  is  giving  to  his  successor  his 
mantle,  and   therewith   is  to  come  a  double  measure  of  his  spirit. 


^ 


K 


1' 

'A 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  SCULPTURE. 


147 


1  ue  significance  of  the  small  figures  in  the  central  background  and  of 
the  bear  in  the  lower  right  hand  corner  is  not  so  manifest.  Some 
have  suggested  a  reference  to  the  children  who  mocked  the  prophet 
and  to  the  instrument  of  their  fearful  punishment.  The  other 
sarcophagus  in  Rome  on  which  is  sculptured  this  scene  has  a  plainly 


Fig.  5~>.— The  tiaiibldtuiu  of  Eluati.    Saicopbagus  in  the  Lati-rau  Mustnim. 

mythological  element  in  the  form  of  a  river-god  that  personifies 
the  Jordan — a  majestic,  half-nude  figure,  in  a  reclining  posture, 
with  rich  flowing  hair  held  back  by  a  band.  He  rests  one  arm  upon 
an  urn,  from  which  flow  the  living  waters,  and  holds  in  the  right 
hand  a  reed,  also  symbolic  of  the  river.  The  action  is  full  of  life, 
and  the  artistic  quality  of  the  work  fairly  good. 

Fig.  53  represents  a  sarcophagus  from  the  crypt  of  Saint  Peter's. 
The  crowded  condition  of  the  objects  in  alto  relievo  causes  a  little 


Fig.  53.— The  history  of  Jnnah  and  other  scenes.  From  a  sarcophagus  in  the  Lateran  Museum. 

obscurity,  and  consequent  uncertainty  in  the  interpretation.     The 
main  scene  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  sarcophagus  is  plain ;  it  illus- 
trates the  history  of  Jonah.    The  tempest  is  indicated  by  The  history  of 
the  full-swelling  sail,  and  by  the  figure  above,  blowing  Jonah, 
upon  it  from  the  conch-shell.     The  sea-monster  receives  the  erring 


148  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

prophet  whom  the  crew  cast  overboard,  and  vomits  him  forth  upon 
the  land,  while  above  Jonah  is  represented  reclining  in  peace  under 
the  grateful  shade  of  the  gourd.  On  the  extreme  right  of  the  upper 
zone  the  Good  Shepherd  leads  forth  the  sheep  from  a  house,  the 
fold,  the  church,  while  at  the  extreme  left  appears  the  Wonder- 
And  its  attend-  worker  raising  Lazarus.  The  center  is  occupied 
ant  scenes.  with  what  appears  to  be  the  scene  of  the  smiting 
of  the  rock  by  Moses,  where  the  people  slake  their  thirst  with 
the  refreshing  water.  The  history  of  Jonah  frequently  recurs 
on  the  Christian  sarcophagi,^  since  the  truth  it  foreshadowed  was 
among  the  most  distinctive  and  precious  of  all  which  the  apostles 
inculcated. 

A  work  of  much  artistic  excellence  is  represented  by  Fig.  54.  It 
was  formerly  in  the  church  San  Paolo  fuori  le  mura,  Rome,  but  is 
A  notable  sar-  now  in  the  Lateran  Museum.  The  two  busts  in  the 
cophagusof  g]iell-like  frame  are   in  alto  relievo,  a.s  are  most  other 

the   Lateran  .     .      , 

Museum.  figures  of  the  sarcophagus.     The  artistic  handling  and 

execution  are  exceptionally  vigorous.  The  grouping  is  varied  and 
natural,  the  pose  well-studied,  the  drapery  wrought  out  with  unusual 
care.  The  division  of  the  space  into  two  zones  is  often  met.  While 
the  reference  in  most  of  the  scenes  is  readily  understood,  it  is  not 
easy  to  discover  any  necessary  relation  of  these  ideas  one  to  the  other 
Its  subjects  and  ^^  the  order  of  a  series.  The  principle  of  artistic  balanc- 
treatment.  ing  is  manifestly  observed,  also  the  study  of  economy 
of  space.  In  the  upper  zone  on  either  side  of  the  busts  are  noticed 
eight  larger  figures,  while  the  cock,  in  the  scene  of  the  denial  of 
Peter,  is  balanced  by  the  child,  in  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac.  The 
hand  of  Moses,  receiving  the  table  of  the  law,  is  balanced  by  the 
outstretched  arm  of  Abraham  which  is  arrested  by  the  hand  break- 
ing forth  from  the  clouds.  In  the  lower  zone,  also,  eight  adult 
figures  are  on  either  side  of  the  central  scene,  while  one  of  the  lions 
on  the  left  is  balanced  by  the  figure  of  the  blind  receiving  his  sight. 
It  is  noticeable  that  here,  also,  the  type  of  Christ  in  each  of  his  acts — 
of  raising  Lazarus,  of  rebuking  Peter,  of  opening  the  eyes  of  the 
blind,  and  of  multiplying  the  loaves — conforms  to  that  of  the  earlier 
frescos  of  the  catacombs,  and  is  more  consonant  with  the  pagan 
notion  that  divinity  should  be  represented  under  forms  of  highest 
physical  perfection. 

The   frequency  of   the  recurrence   of    several    Scripture   scenes 

'Burgon:  ietters^om  72ome  (Letter  xx),  says  that  of  fifty-five  sarcophagi  which 
he  examined  twenty-three  contained  the  history  of  Jonah.  Of  one  hundred  and 
ninety-five  in  Rome,  outside  the  Lateran  Museum,  twenty-eight  contain  this  history. 


150  ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

is  quite  remarkable.  On  fifty-five  sarcophagi  which  Burgon'  exam- 
Frequency  of  ined  in  the  Lateran  Museum,  he  found  the  smiting  of  the 
the  recurrence  ^^^^^  ^^  occur  twentv-three  times  ;  the  miracle  of  the 

of  various  sub-  ,        •'  ' 

jects.  loaves,  twenty  times  ;    the  giving  sight   to  the  blind, 

nineteen  times;  the  raising  of  Lazarus,  sixteen  times;  Daniel  in  the 
lions'  den,  fourteen  times  ;  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  eleven  times. 
While  these  are  thus  frequent,  the  crowning  with  thorns  occurs  but 
once,  and  of  a  real  crucifixion  there  is  no  trace.  One  hundred 
and  ninety-five  Christian  sarcophagi  at  Rome,  outside  of  the  Lat- 
eran Museum,  contain  the  history  of  Jonah  twenty-eight  times; 
Moses  smiting  the  rock,  ten  times;  our  first  parents,  nine  times; 
sacrifice  of  Isaac,  eight  times;  the  raising  of  Lazarus,  six  times;  the 
multiplication  of  the  bread,  and  the  miracle  in  Cana,  each  six  times." 
Rich  architectural  effects  are  met  upon  several  of  the  best  sar- 
sarcophagus  cophagi  in  the  vaults  of  the  Vatican  and  in  the  Chris- 
wiih  architect-  tian  museum  of  the  Lateran.  One  face  of  such  sar- 
urai  features,  cophagus  is  represented  in  Fig.  55.  The  seven  com- 
partments are  formed  by  columns  richly  ornamented  with  the  vine 
and  its  tendrils.  The  central  figure  is  plainly  Christ  in  the  attitude 
of  the  teacher,  in  the  midst  of  his  apostles.  The  roll  held  in  his  left 
hand  is  supported  by  one  of  the  disciples,  while  the  positions  of  the 
hands,  both  of  Christ  and  of  those  whom  he  is  addressing,  are  indi- 
cative of  conversation,  rather  than  of  the  formal  discourse  of  the 
great  Teacher.  The  Christ  is  of  the  more  youthful,  vigorous,  and 
pleasing  type,  and  has  in  it  elements  which  are  suggestive  of  the 
better  period  of  sculpture.  The  other  figures  are  self-explanatory. 
On  the  extreme  right  is  Christ  before  Pilate,  who  is  washing  his 
hands  in  token  of  his  innocency  of  the  blood  of  the  royal  Victim. 
On  the  extreme  left  is  the  frequently  recurring  scene  of  the  sacrifice 
of  Isaac,  which  here,  more  than  is  usual,  seems  to  be  a  type  of  the 
great  Sacrifice  for  the  sin  of  the  world.  The  curious  figure  beneath 
the  Saviour,  who  is  holding  a  veil  above  the  head,  is  not  easy  of 
A  doubtful  eie-  interpretation.  It  occurs  in  one  or  two  other  sarcophagi, 
ment.  notably  in  that  of  Junius  Bassus.     Perhaps  the  sugges- 

tion that  a  mythological  element  is  here  introduced,  the  figure  rep- 
resenting either  Uranus,  the  heaven,  or  Tellus,  the  earth,  may  be 
most  satisfactory.' 

'  Letters  from  Borne,  Letter  xx. 

'G-rousset:  Etude  sur  Vhistoire  des  sarcophages  chretiens,  Paris,  1885,  8vo. 

^Schiiaase:  GescMclite  d.  hildenden  Kumte,  Ite  Aufg.,  Bd.  iii.,  s.  75.  Liibke:  ffist. 
of  Scidpture,  Transl.,  vol.  i,  p.  345,  regards  it  as  a  figure  of  Oceanus.  Northcote  and 
Brownlow :  Eoma  Sotterranea,  vol.  ii,  p.  256,  say,  "  The  vault  of  heaven  beneath 
His  feet  being  expressed  (as  in  pagan  monuments)  by  the  veil  which  the  female 
figure  holds  above  her  head." 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  SCULPTURE. 


151 


Probably  the  most  elaborate  sarcophagus  of  the  early  sarcophagus  of 
Christian  centuries  which  has  been  preserved  is  that  of  Junius  Bassus. 
Junius  Bassus,  in  the 
crypt  of  St.  Peter's, 
Rome.^  The  inscrip- 
tion along  the  upper 
band  of  this  monu- 
ment gives  the  de- 
sired information 
relative  to  the  char- 
acter and  age  of  the 
person  whose  mem- 
ory is  hereby  perpet-  ^ 
uated.  It  is  as  fol-  ^ 
lows:  IVN.  BASSVS  f 
VC  QUI  VIXIT  AN-  ^ 
NIS.  XLII  MEN.  II.  8 
IN  IPSA  PRAEFEC-  | 
TVRA  VRBI.  NE-  1 
OFITVS  IIT  AD  S. 
DEVM.  A^II  KAL  f 
SEPT  EVSEBIO  ET  | 
YPATIO  COSS.  I 
"  Junius  Bassus,  of  g 
patrician  rank,  who  B 
lived  forty-two  years  "^ 
and  two  months.  In  ^ 
the  very  year  in  which  g 
he  became  prefect  of  g 
the  city,  a  neophyte,  S 
he  went  to  God  on  B 
the  23d  of  August, 
Eusebius  and  Hypa- 
tius  being  Consuls  " 
(A.  D.  359). 

'  Good  casts  of  this  sar- 
cophagus are  found  in  the 
Lateran  Museum,  also  in 
the  Museum  of  Christian 
Archceology,  Berlin,  whicli 
was  founded  by  Professor 
Piper,  and  under  his  in- 
defatigable labors  has  be- 
come one  of  the  most  use- 
ful collections  in  Europe 
for  purposes  of  study. 


152 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


The  facts  of  the  inscription  are  confirmed  by  contemporary  his- 
its  inscrip-  torians,  thus  giving  positive  information  respecting  the 
tions.  time  of  the  origin  of  the  monument,  and,  therefore,  aid- 

ing in  appreciating  the  cycle  of  subjects  here  portrayed,  as  well  as 
the  artistic  value  of  the  work.  The  architectural  principle  is 
The  subjects  likewise  introduced  into  this  sarcophagus,  dividing  the 
introduced.  surface  into  compartments,  in  each  of  which  is  found  a 
scriptural  scene.  On  the  extreme  left  of  the  upper  zone  is  the  sac- 
rifice of  Isaac,  in  which  the  knife  raised  to  slay  the  boy  is  arrested 
by  a  hand  stretched  out  from  the  clouds,  while,  near  at  hand,  the 
substituted  ram  is  found.  It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  frequent 
introduction  of  this  event  in  Scripture  history,  except  that  it  may  have 
a  typical  or  symbolical  signification — pointing  to  the  real  sacrifice,  the 
Lamb  of  God,  who  was  to  "  take  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  On 
the  other  extreme  is  the  hand- washing  of  Pilate.  The  lower  zone  is 
equally  significant,  showing  in  the  middle  portion  Christ's  triumphal 
entry  into  Jerusalem.  On  the  right  is  the  representation  of  Daniel  in 
the  lions'  den.  Here  in  the  case  of  Daniel  a  draped  figure  is  intro- 
duced, while  in  other  delineations  of  the  same  scene  the  figure  is 
entirely  nude.  On  the  left  is  the  temptation  of 
our  first  parents.  The  serpent  is  winding  around 
the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil ;  the 
sheaf  of  wheat  by  Adam  indicates  the  life  of 
labor  which  he  must  lead,  and  the  lamb  symbol- 
izes the  employment  of  Eve.  Some  interpreters 
find  in  this  figure  of  the  lamb  a  symbol  of  the 
promised  Redeemer.  The  relation  of  the  ele- 
ments of  this  scene  can  best  be  studied  from 
Fig.  56.  The  middle  figure  of  the  upper  zone  has 
been  variously  interpreted.  Some  have  seen  in 
it  the  teaching  Christ,  the  two  figures  being  those  of  his  disci- 
ples. The  roll  and  the  attitude  of  the  hand  would  suggest  this. 
Others  have  associated  it  with  the  central  scene 
in  the  lower  zone.  As  the  latter  is  representative 
of  his  triumph  before  the  people,  so  is  the  upper 
scene  (v.  Fig.  57)  the  transfiguration,  with  Moses 
and  Elias  as  his  companions.  This,  it  is  claimed, 
is  indicated  by  the  figure  below,  which  is  to  rep- 
resent earth  as  his  footstool,  under  the  form  of 
Tellus,  who  holds  a  veil  over  the  head,  thus  sym- 
bolizing the  firmament.  The  latter  interpretation 
appears  hardly  accordant  with  the  principles  of 
a  rational  symbolism.     The  other  scenes  are,  respectively,  on  the  ex- 


Fig.  56.  — The  Fall. 
From  sarcophagus  of 
Junius  Bassus. 


Fig.  57.— From  the  Ju- 
nius Bassus  monument 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN   SCULPTURE.  155 

treme  left,  in  the  lower  zone,  the  humiliation  of  Job;  on  the 
right  the  arrest  of  Peter;  on  the  upper  zone,  Christ's  arrest,  and 
his  arraignment  before  Pilate.  In  the  spandrels  of  the  arches  is 
a  most  suggestive  symbolism.'  In  one  part  a  sheep  a  suggestive 
is  striking  with  a  staff  the  rock,  whence  flows  water  symbolism, 
which  another  sheep  is  drinking.  In  another  section  a  sheep  is 
receiving  the  table  of  the  law;  in  another  it  performs  the  miracle 
of  the  loaves;  a  third  lays  its  forefoot  upon  the  head  of  another, 
over  which  baptismal  waters  flow,  while  the  rays  stream  from 
the  beak  of  the  dove  which  represents  the  Holy  Spirit.  Thus 
in  all  the  symbolic  character  of  the  lamb  is  most  manifest;  the 
central  thought  being  Christ  the  source  of  power,  blessing,  and 
life. 

The  sculpture.  Fig,  58,  is  of  later  origin,  probably  of  the  sixth 
century.  The  central  figure  is  one  quite  frequently  met  ^  later  sar- 
in the  frescos — an  orante — on  either  side  of  whom  cophagus. 
stands  a  figure  whose  signification  it  is  diflicult  to  determine.  The 
presence  of  the  palm-trees  points  to  the  thought  of  victory  or 
of  joyousness  in  the  heavenly  inheritance.  The  extension  of  the 
hands  in  prayer  is  the  usual  attitude  met  in  the  early  monuments — 
frescos,  sculptures,  and  mosaics.  It  is  plain  that  this  position  of 
standing  with  outstretched  hands  in  prayer  was  the  usual  or 
prescribed  one.  No  instance  of  prayer  to  God  in  the  kneeling 
posture  is  met  in  the  monuments.  Supplication  for  Attitude  in 
aid  from  another,  as  in  case  of  the  woman  with  the  prayer, 
issue  of  blood,  etc.,  may  be  met;  but  that  this  was  not  the  usual 
attitude  in  case  of  public  worship  seems  evident.  In  this  the 
monuments  and  the  literary  evidence  are  in  entire  accord.  The 
other  members  of  this  sculpture  are  familiar.  On  the  right  the 
multiplication  of  the  loaves  in  the  hands  of  the  disciples — a  most 
favorite  scene  with  the  early  Christians;  on  the  left  the  first  mira- 
cle in  Cana  of  Galilee,  which  is  hardly  less  frequent  upon  the  early 
monuments.  The  extreme  right  has  been  by  some  interpreted  to 
be  the  afllicted  Job  sitting  in  ashes,  attended  by  one  of  his 
friends.*  This  is  less  certain  in  its  reference  than  the  other  portions 
of  the  sarcophagus.  As  a  work  of  art  this  is  much  inferior  to 
many  others  :  it  indicates  a  wide  departure  from  the  classic  spirit, 
a  decay  of  originating  power,  and  feebleness  in  execution. 

The  representation  of  the  Nativity  and   its  attendant  circum- 

'  Unfortunately,  these  do  not  appear  with  much  distinctness  in  our  plate.  The 
best  photograph  of  this  fine  sarcophagus,  taken  by  magnesium  light,  appears  in  Rom- 
ische  Quartahchrift,  No.  4,  September,  1896. 

*  Roller:   Catacombes  de  Rome,  vol.  i,  p.  297. 


156 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


stances 
In  the 


is  quite  exceptional  on  the  Christian  sarcophagi.   The  Nativity  in 
Lateran  collection  but  a  single  example  is  met,   sculpture. 

upon  a  fragment  of  a  small  sar- 
cophagus, represented  in  Fig.  59. 
The   scene  is  easy  of  interpreta- 
tion.     Joseph   and  Mary  occupy 
the   extreme   right.     The  central 
portion  suggests  the  manger  scene, 
the    sacred    babe    in    swaddling 
clothes  laid  in  a  basket,  while  the 
ox  and  the  ass  in  their  stall  help 
to   complete   the   picture   of    the 
lowliness  of  the  birthplace  of  the 
Lord.'    Toward  the  left  the  magi, 
!     clad    in    their    usual    dress,    are 
!     bringing  gifts.      On  the  extreme 
I     left  is  a  winged  genius  in  the  pe- 
I     culiar  style  of  pagan  art,  showing 
!     the     syncretism    of     thought    in 
I     Christian   sculpture,  or,   at   least, 
!     the    readiness   with   which    these 
;     figures  were  introduced  for  deco- 
'    rative  purposes. 
?         The     interesting     sarcophagus 
;     represented    by   Fig.    60  is  from 

1     the   latter  part   of   the  The  appear- 

;      ^£j.i  i  A„      „    ance  of  the 

i     fifth     century.      As     a  ^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^ 

!  work  of  art  it  plainly  sculpture. 
I  belongs  to  the  period  of  deca- 
c  dence.  The  scenes  in  the  life  of 
Christ  also  show  by  their  peculiar 
treatment  that  the  age  of  per- 
secution is  past,  and  the  age  of 
triumph  has  been  reached.  The 
hand-washing  by  Pilate   is  mani- 

'  Some  interpreters  have  suggested  that 
reference  may  be  had  to  Isa.  i,  3 ;  that 
while  the  brute  creation  recognise  their 
Lord  and  Creator,  and  the  heathen  world 
(the  magi)  is  full  of  expectation,  and  is 
ready  to  worship  the  infant  Redeemer, 
"  Israel  doth  not  know,  my  people  doth  not 
consider." 


13 


158 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


of 


festly  the  scene  presented  on  the  extreme  right.    This  is  indicated 
by  the  basin,  the  j^ouring  out  of  the  water  from  the  pitcher  by  the 

soldier,  the  attitude  of  the 
sitting  figure,  etc.  Next  is 
the  figure  of  Christ  attended 
by  the  soldier,  who  bears  a 
S  spear  and  wears  the  usual 
fe  Roman  helmet,  Christ  seems 
•^  in  the  attitude  of  speaking. 
^  The  position  of  the  hand,  with 
c  the  two  forefingers  extended, 
I  as  is  customary  with  the 
g  teacher,  might  suggest  the 
«  answer  to  the  inquiring  Pi- 
^  late,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of 
^  this  world.  .  .  ."  "Art  thou 
I  a  king  then  ?  "  "  Thou  sayest 
I  that  I  am  a  king."  The  scene 
g  first  on  the  left  of  the  center 
g    is  plainly  the  crown-  ^terpreta. 

ing  of  Christ  by  the  t  i  o  n 
I    soldier.  But  may  not 
I    the  time  of  the  origin  of  this 
a    sculpture  be  conjectured  from 

5  the  fact  that  the  crown  is  no 
^    longer  one  of  thorns  but  of 

6  garlands?  On  the  extreme 
g  left  is  the  cross-bearing.  To 
I  what  extent  the  crown  of  gar- 
«  lands  may  suggest  triumph,  or 
g  how  far  it  may  be  merely  or- 
s  namental,  and  is  used  to  com- 
^  plete  the  artistic  balancing  re- 
I  quired  by  the  like  crown  in 
I  the  hand-washing,  may  not  be 
g  determined  with  certainty. 
Sf    The  central  portion  is  full  of 

suggestion.  A  curious  com- 
bination of  elements  indicates 
that  the  period  of  suffering 
and  the  time  when  the  cross 
The  Constantinian  monogram  rests 
be  indicative  of   sacrifice,  but  it  is 


must 
upon 


be  concealed  are  past, 
the  cross.     This  would 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   SCULPTURE. 


161 


crowned  by  a  chaplet  which  is  emblematic 
Triumph  rather  ^f  victory.  This  would  be  fur- 
than  suffering  ther  emphasized  by  the  idea  of 
suggested.  ^j^^  resurrection,  suggested  by 
the  watch  of  Roman  sokliers  who  were  set 
to  guard  the  sealed  tomb. 

Early  Christian  art  contains  few  refer- 
ences to  the  retributions  of  a  future  state. 
Herein  it  is  in  completest  contrast  with  the 
art  of  the  later  Middle  Ages,  and  with  some 
of  the  most  celebrated  works  of  the  Re- 
naissance. In  this  we  observe  the  influence 
of  that  spirit  of  simple  faith  and  love  which 
led  the  early  Christians  to  dwell  rather  upon 
the  beneficent  offices  of  our  Lord,  and  upon 
the  more  cheerful  and  winning  aspects  of  the 
religion  which  he  established.  The  state- 
ments already  made  in  relation  to  the 
frequency  on  the  early  monuments  of  such 
scenes  in  the  life  of  Christ,  and  of  events  in 
the  biblical  history  which  contemplate  the 
The  last  judg-  elevation  of  the  individual  or  of 
™ent.  xhQ    race,    fully    confirm     this 

opinion.  In  the  sai-cophagus,  Fig.  61,  is 
almost  the  only  instance  .of  a  representation 
of  the  last  judgment  in  early  Christian 
sculpture.  It  is  a  simple  reproduction  of 
Its  scriptural  the  Scripture  statement  in  Matt, 
character.  xxv,  31-46.     Here  is  the  shep- 

herd, not  the  angry  judge,  separating  the 
sheep  from  the  goats.  The  whole  action  of 
the  sculpture  is  most  effective.  The  press- 
ing forward  of  the  sheep  in  obedience  to 
the  glad  invitation,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of 
my  Father,"  the  hand  laid  approvingly  upon 
the  head  of  the  nearest,  the  face  of  the 
shepherd  turned  toward  those  who  had  done 
his  will  in  acts  of  beneficence,  are  in  strik- 
ing contrast  to  the  attitude  of  the  proud 
goats  who  were  approaching  with  eager  con- 
fidence, but  who,  arrested  by  the  fearful 
words,  "  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,"  now 
shrink  back  from  the  touch  of  the  averted 


'«V' 


kN. 


I^>^1 


k^d 


.^ 


v,>^. 


5>s^ 


^^\> 

^^e^'^^ 


102  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

hand,  and  are  troubled  by  the  face  turned  away  in  sorrowful  con- 
demnation. Nothing  could  more  fully  and  effectively  express  the 
decisions  of  the  last  judgment  in  a  manner  completely  in  harmony 
with  the  Scripture  conception.' 

CARVINGS    IN    IVORY. 

Another  very  interesting  class  of  objects  are  the  carvings  in  ivory, 
rhey  are  considerable  in  number,  and  on  account  of  the  durability 
of  the  material  have  suffered  less  from  the  forces  which  have  seri- 
ously marred  works  in  stone  and  bronze. 

Some  of  the  most  important  of  these  ivory  carvings  prior  to  the 

eighth  century  are  in  the  form  of  diptychs.     This  term. 

Ivory  diptychs.       c^  «/  i    ^  7 

while  properly  applying  to  any  thing  folded  together 

[SirrTvxov),    has  more   especial   reference   to   tablets   used   by   the 

ancients  for  writing  with  a  stylus  of  ivory  or  metal.     They  often 

had  three  leaves  (triptychs),  sometimes  four  and  more.     The  inner 

surface  was  covered  with  a  thin  film  of  wax,  the  outer,  or  cover 

proper,  was  often  elaborately  carved. 

For  general  art  archaeology  the  most  important  of  these  are  the 
Consular  dip-  consular  diptychs,  since  they  are  usually  larger,  more 
p^orlanf  for  elaborate,  and  bear  dates  and  legends  which  are  often 
chronology.  helpful  in  the  solution  of  historic  and  chronologic  prob- 
lems. These  were  usually  presents  which  the  newly  appointed  con- 
suls were  accustomed  to  send  to  their  friends  and  adherents,  and 
differed  in  value  and  artistic  excellence  according  to  the  social 
rank  or  political  influence  of  the  recipients.  Some  of  the  consular 
diptychs  were  afterward  presented  to  churches  and  ecclesiastical 
communities,  and  were  changed  in  their  character  from  secular  and 
heathen  to  Christian  by  the  removal  of  portions  of  the  original 
carving  and  the  substitution  of  subjects  of  religious  significance. 
As  might  be  anticipated,  they  sometimes  present  a  commingling  of 
heathen  and  Christian  elements. 

Diptychs  were  also  quite  common  in  the  public  service  of  the  early 
Church.  Their  uses  have  been  well  summarized  as  follows:  First, 
like  the  church  registers  of  modern  times,  they  contained  names  of 
all  baptized  and  unbaptized  persons  of  the  parish  or  district ;  secondly, 
in  them  were  recorded  the  names  of  bishops  and  chief  personages 
who  had  been  benefactors  and  patrons  of  that  particular  church ; 
thirdly,  they  contained  the  names  of  those  who  had  suffered  mar- 
Ecciesiasticai  tyrdom,  or  who  were  of  specially  saintly  character — 
diptychs.  these  names  being  often  read  at  the  public  services  to 

show  the  unity  of  the  Church  militant  and  the  Church  triumphant; 
'  Roller :   Catacombes  de  Rome,  vol.  i,  pi.  xliii,  No.  3. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  SCULPTURE.  163 

fourthly,  there  were  diptychs  in  which  were  written  the  names  of  the 
deceased  members  of  the  particular  church  or  district,  who  were  to 
be  remembered  at  mass.'  This  was  regarded  a  matter  of  extreme 
interest,  since  the  erasure  of  a  name  from  the  diptychs  was  equiv- 
alent to  actual  excommunication,  and  the  name  so  erased  could 
no  longer  be  mentioned  in  the  prayers  of  the  church.*  The 
number  of  ecclesiastical  diptychs  jorior  to  A.  D.  700  is  very 
small;  yet  they  are  of  peculiar  interest  in  the  illustration  of  the 
sculpture  of  the  period  prior  to  the  liberation  of  Christianity  from 
Graeco-Roman  influence,  and  of  the  development  of  an  art  peculiarly 
its  own. 

A  single  leaf  of  a  beautiful  Christian  diptych,  plainl}^  of  Byzantine 
origin,  is  now  in  the  British  Museum.  It  represents  r^^^^j.  import- 
an  angel  of  young  and  vigorous  mien  standing  under  a°ce. 
an  arch  supported  by  Corinthian  columns.  He  is  clad  in  a  tunic 
and  flowing  mantle.  In  the  right  hand  he  bears  a  globe  surmounted 
by  the  cross,  very  much  in  the  style  of  the  Byzantine  emperors,  and 
with  the  left  supports  a  long  scepter  similar  to  the  lance  borne  by 

warriors.     The  general  character  of  the  work  is  good, 

11  •  1  1  •    r,  1       Examples. 

and  suggests  that  the  artist  must  have  been  influenced 

by  the  classic  statues  with  which  Constantinople  then  abounded.^ 
A  second  example  from  the  sixth  century  is  now  in  the  British 
collection  ;  both  leaves  are  preserved.  One  represents  the  Virgin 
and  child  enthroned,  with  two  angels  in  waiting  ;  on  the  other 
leaf  Christ  is  seated  between  SS.  Peter  and  Paul.  A  third,  now 
belonging  to  the  treasury  of  the  Cathedral  of  Monza,  also  from 
the  sixth  century,  has  both  leaves  preserved.  It  has  been  sug- 
gested that  it  was  early  converted  from  a  consular  diptych  to  the 
cover  of  an  antiphonarium  of  Gregory  the  Great.*  On  one  leaf 
is  a  figure  in  consular  robes;  but  the  head  shows  the  tonsure, 
and  the  staif  terminates  in  a  cross.  It  has  been  claimed  to  be 
a  representation  of  Gregory  himself.  The  other  side  contains  a 
somewhat  similar  figure,  but  lacks  the  tonsure,  and  is  associated 
with  the  inscription,   DAVID  REX.     This  association  of  Gregory 

^Gori:  TJiesaurus  veterum  diptychorum,  Florentise,  1759,  t.  i,  pp.  242,  243.  Binp:- 
ham:  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church,  Book  xv,  ch.  iii,  §.  18. 

"Among  others  see  Bingham:  Op.  oil.,  Book  xvi,  ch.  iii,  §  12;  Book  xix,  ch.  ii, 
§11.  Dodwell:  Fifth  Cyprian  Dissertation.  Ad  Epistolam  X.  De  nominum  e  dix>- 
tychis  ecclesicerecitatione  in.  Eucharistia.     Oxen,  1684. 

'  Labarte :  Op.  cit,  t.  i,  pp.  30,  31.  Oldfield :  Select  Examples  of  Ivory  Carving  from 
the  SecoTkl  to  the  Sixteenth  Century.     London,  1855,  p.  10. 

*  Gori;  0?j.  ci^.,  t.  i,  p.  201.  Oldfield:  Op.  cit.,  p.  10.  Maskell :  iwnes,  ^naerai 
and  Mediceval,  etc.,  p.  xxxvi.  Contra,  Pulszky :  The  Fejevdry  Ivories,  p.  23.  La- 
barte: Op.  cit,  t.  i,  p.  16. 


1G4 


ARCHAEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART, 


and  David  has  been  thought  to  be  very  approj^riate  on  account 
of  their  similar  interest  in  sacred  music  and  song.  While  the  work 
is  rude,  and  indicates  great  artistic  decadence,  it  is  nevertheless  of 
great  importance  in  the  art  study  of  a  period  from  which  compara- 
tively few  examples  of  sculpture  have  survived. 

It  has  often  been  remarked  by  investigators  of  early  Christian 
monuments  that  they  are  remarkably  free  from  scenes  of  suffering, 
as  the  early  inscriptions  furnish  few  examples  of  the  expression  of 
a  spirit  of  complaining,  despair,  or  vindictiveuess.  It  is  quite  gen- 
erally agreed  that  in  the  first  four  centuries  no  instance  of  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  crucifixion  of  Christ  upon  the  monuments  has  yet 
been  found.  The  reason  of  the  avoidance  of  these  scenes  has  else- 
where been  suggested  [v.  p.  104).     Hence  the  agony  in  the  garden. 


Fgi.  63.— A  Crucifixion.    From  an  ivory  in  the  Maskell  Collection  in  British  Museum.    Probably 

of  tlie  flfth  century. 

the  scourging,  the  cross-bearing,  and  the  crucifixion,  all  of  which 

became  favorite  subjects  of  art  portraiture  in  the  mediaeval  period, 

are  rarely  met  in  the  art  of  the  first  three  and  a  half  centuries. 

Fig.  62  is  from  an  ivory  carving,  and  is  believed  to  be  one  of  the 

The     earliest    oldest  representations  of  the  crucifixion  yet  discovered. 

representation    j^  cannot  be  of  a  date  earlier  than  the  fifth  centurv.   From 

of  the  cruciflx- 

ion.  its  general  style  and  resemblance  to  the  sculptures  of  the 

Roman  sarcophagi,  its  genuineness  has  come  to  be  accepted  by  the 

best  critics,  and  its  date  determined.     It  is  now  in  the  collection  of 

the  British  Museum,  and  was  part  of  the  celebrated  Maskell  cabinet 

of  ivories  which  have  come  to  be  so  highly  prized.    The  scenes  here 

represented,  one  of  four  divisions  of  the  ivory,  are  manifest.     The 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   SCULPTURE.  165 

Saviour,  extended  upon  a  Latin  ci'oss,  receives  the  thrust  from  the 
soldier's  spear,  while  on  the  other  side  appear  the  beloved  disciple 
and  the  sorrowing  mother  (John  xix,  26,  27).  On  the  extreme  left 
is  the  representation  of  the  history  given  in  Matt,  xxvii,  5 :  "  And 
he  cast  down  the  pieces  of  silver  in  the  temple,  and  departed,  and 
went  and  hanged  himself."  Previous  to  the  discovery  and  de- 
scription of  this  ivory  carving,  the  earliest  representation  of 
the  crucifixion  was  believed  to  be  that  contained  in  the  decora- 
tion of  a  Syriac  manuscript  of  the  gospels,  now  in  Florence,  which 
bears  the  date  A.  D.  586. 

An  interesting  instance  of  ivory  carving  upon  covers  of  books 
is  found  in  the  National  Library  of  Paris.  Three  prin-  camngsonthe 
cipal  scenes  are  represented;  namely,  above,  the  An-  covers  of  books. 
nunciation;  in  the  centre,  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi;  below,  the 
Massacre  of  the  Innocents.  The  entire  composition  is  in  very  supe- 
rior style  of  art,  indicating  the  thorough  acquaintance  of  the  artist 
with  the  best  works  of  antiquity.' 

A  second  example  of  like  character  is  in  the  treasury  of  the  Ca- 
thedral of  Milan.  Both  covers  have  been  preserved.  The  central 
portion  of  the  one  is  occupied  by  a  richly  jeweled  Agnus  Bel  with 
circled  and  jeweled  nimbus.  In  the  upper  part  is  represented  the 
Nativity,  flanked  by  symbolic  figures  of  Matthew  and  Luke.  In 
the  lower  portion  is  depicted  the  massacre  of  the  Innocents,  while 
on  either  side  of  the  cover  are  three  scenes  from  Gospel  history. 
The  center  of  the  other  leaf  contains  a  jeweled  cross,  above  which 
is  the  adoration  of  the  Magi,  with  symbolic  representations  of  Mark 
and  John;  below  is  the  marriage  in  Cana,  while  six  scenes  from  the 
life  of  Christ  enrich  the  sides.  From  the  circumstance  that  Christ 
is  represented  as  young,  unbearded,  and  without  a  nimbus,  as  well 
as  from  the  fact  that  while  his  presentation  to  the  women  after  the 
resurrection  is  the  subject  of  one  of  the  carvings,  the  crucifixion  is 
here  avoided,  some  have  been  inclined  to  assign  this  ivory  to  a 
very  early  date.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  it  cannot  antedate 
the  fifth  centur}^* 

This  last  work  in  ivory  is  surpassed   in  value  and  interest   by 
the  noted  cathedra  of  Bishop  Maximianus,  now  preserved  cathedra  of 
in  the  sacristry  of  the  Duomo  in  Ravenna.     It  is  entirely  Bishop  Maxim- 
covered  with  carvings,  many  of  which  are  of  the  finest  de- 
sign and  technic.     Ten  scenes  from  the  life  of  Joseph  are  of  very 

1  Labarte:   Op.  cit,  t.  i,  p.  32. 

^  This  celebrated  work  has  been  described  by  many  writers.  Labarte,  Op.  cit., 
t.  i,  p.  32,  has  ,?iven  a  very  fine  plate;  and  Oldfleld,  Op.  cit,  p.  11,  has  given  a  par- 
tial description. 


IGO 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART 


superior  workmanship,  while  the  animals  and  plants  reveal  a  warm 
sympathy   of  the  artist  with  nature.      Only  the  figures  of  saints 

that  fill  the  front  side  show  the 
stiffness  and  artificiality  of  the 
later  Byzantine  style.  Fig.  63 
represents  one  of  these  figures — 
an  ecclesiastic  in  the  attitude  of 
preaching.  The  sacred  book  lies 
open  upon  the  ambo,  or  reading 
desk,  and  the  two  forefingers  of 
the  right  hand  indicate  the  ofiice 
of  the  teacher.  The  attitude  of 
the  figure  itself  is  constrained, 
while  the  whole  artistic  treat- 
ment, from  the  head  to  the  san- 
dals upon  the  feet,  is  stiff  and 
unnatural.  This  and  other  like 
figures  are  specially  helpful  as  a 
means  of  ascertaining  the  vest- 
ments of  the  clergy  and  their 
position  in  preaching,  as  well  as 
suggesting  the  quality  of  the 
church  furniture  then  in  use. 

In  a  few  instances  ancient 
ivory  boxes,  or  pixes,  are  still 
preserved.'  They  were  gener- 
ally placed  upon  the  altar  to  con- 
tain the  consecrated  eucharistic 
elements  which  were  to  be  dis- 
tributed to  the  sick,  Garrucci 
claims  that  the  subjects  depicted 
upon  fourteen  of  the  fifteen 
known  sacred  pixes  relate  directly  to  the  eucharist.  The  only  excep- 
tion is  an  ivory  pix  from  the  early  part  of  the  sixth  cen- 
tury, which  is  now  in  the  British  Museum.  Upon  it  are 
represented  the  martyrdom  and  glorification  of  the  Egyptian  saint, 
Menas,  This  circumstance  has  therefore  suggested  another  use  of 
these  sacred  pixes ;  namely,  to  contain  relics  of  saints  and  martyrs.'' 
This  St.  Menas  was  held  in  highest  veneration  by  the  Egyptian 

1  V.  Hahn:  Fmf  Elfenhein-Gefdsse  des  fruhesten  3fittel- alters.  Hanover,  1862. 
Lebarte :  Histoire  des  arts  indvstriels. 

'  V  Garrucci  and  Nesbitt,  iu  the  Archwologia,  vol.  xliv,  pp.  320-330,  and  plates 
X  and  xi. 


Fig.  63.— Ivory  carving  from  the  cathedra  of 
Bishop  Maximianus,  in  the  Duomo  of  Ravenna. 


Ivory   pixes. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  SCULPTURE. 


I(i7 


-    /' 


^^ 


Fi^.  63".— Ivory  Pix  from  Berlin  Museum  :  Christ  En- 
throned among  the  Apostles. 


Christians,  and  also  in  Rome.  He  is  often  represented  upon  the 
flattened  flasks  or  bottles  which  are  found  in  considerable  numbers 
in  Egypt. 

The  finest  of  the  early 
Christian  work  in  ivory 
is  a  pix  in  the  Berlin 
Museum.  It  is  a  cylin- 
drical box,  5x51  inches, 
elaborately  carved  with 
great  skill.  The  chief 
figure  is  Christ  en- 
throned, surrounded  by 
the  twelve  apostles.  The 
drapery,  attitude,  and 
general  treatment  ap- 
proach the  classical  style. 
The  Saviour  is  a  youth- 
ful, beardless  figure  with 
short  hair.  In  his  left 
hand  he  holds  a  scroll  ; 
his  right  hand  is  uplifted 

in  the   gesture  of  teaching.     A   second  subject  is  the  sacrifice  of 
Isaac.     The  head  of  Abraham  is  remarkably  fine,  suggesting  the 

^sculapius  or  Zeus 
type.  This  work  be- 
longs to  the  best  of  the 
Greco-Christian  art  of 
the  fourth  century.  It 
was  found  in  a  village 
on  the  Mosel.' 

Another      interesting 

class  of    antiquities  are 

the      Christian      lamps. 

They  are  numerous  and 

t ,  .  of    different    materials, 

\i^  '  as    terra    COtta,    Sculptured 

»'  bronze,    silver,    '^"^p^" 

kS  Jy      and    amber.     They   are 

^*->^_l^  ^ik-^       of  various    forms,    and 

contain  a  great  variety 
of  symbols,  as  the  dove, 

'O.Cramer:   Die  Elfenhfin  Pyxh  des  Berliner  Museums.      ChristUches  Kunstltlott, 
1895. 


Fig.  63''. —Ivory  Pix  from  Berlin  Museum  :  Sacrlflce  of  Isaac. 


168 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


tlie  cross,  the  Constan- 
tinian  monogTam,  A  S2, 
etc.  The  Cliristiaiis 
used  tliese  lamps  not 
only  to  lighten  the  oth- 
erwise gloomy  recesses 
of  the  catacombs,  but, 
in  common  with  the 
heathen  peoples,  at- 
tached to  them  a  sym- 
bolic significance,  es- 
pecially when  used  in 
connection  with  the 
burial  of  the  dead. 
Some  of  these  lam])S 
are  works  of  high  art, 
and  show  an  exquisite 
taste  in  mattei'S  of  form 
as  well  as  in  respect  to 
workmanship  and  sym- 
bolic import.  Fig.  64 
is  one  of  the  finest  of 
the  hanging   lamps    in 

bronze.     It  contains  three  orifices  for  lighting,  and   its  handle  is 

wrought  out  in  an  elaborate  ^   and  the  representation  of  Jonah 

reclining  under  the  shadow  of 

the  gourd.' 

For  over  two  hundred  j^ears 

Ampulla,  or  gi'eat    interest    has 

blood-phials,   attached  to  a  class 

of  relics  found  more  especially 

in  the  Roman  catacombs  and 

crypts  of  churches  ;  these  are 

the     so-called     amj)ullai,     or 

blood-phials,  Fig.  65.     An  al- 
most acrimonious  controversy 

has  continued   respecting  the 

uses  of   these  clay  and  glass 

phials     and      their    contents. 

One  cause  of  this  controversy  was  a  decree  of  the  Conf/regatio  Mit- 

uicm  et  Reliquarum,  issued  in  1668,  to  the  effect  that  the  marks  of 

true  relics  of  the  martyrs,  as  distinguished  from  the  false  or  doubt- 

'See  Fio;.  12'*-12':. 


Fig.  64.— A  Christian  lamp,  with  Constantinian  monogram. 


Fig.  65.- 


-A  so-called  Blood-phial.    From  Roman 
catacombs. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  SCULPTURE.  169 

ful,  shall  be  the  presence  of  the  palm-branch  and  a  vessel  coloured 
with  their  blood.  This  test  was  maintained  as  decisive  by  nearly  all 
the  old  archaeologists,  and  has  been  very  vigourously  defended  by 
many  in  the  present  century.  Two  opinions  of  the  contents  of 
these  phials  have  been  held  :  one,  that  they  contained  the  blood  of 
martyrs  ;  the  other,  that  the  colouring  matter  found  in  them  was 
due  to  wine  used  for  eucharistic  purposes.  The  question  is  not  yet 
satisfactorily  settled. 

Many  other  interesting  and  instructive  objects  of  antiquity  are 
found  in  museums  and  private  collections.  The  subject  of  seals  and 
rings  has  received  careful  attention.  Numismatics  has  become  a 
special  science,  also  glyptic  art  has  contributed  much  toward  a 
knowledge  of  Christian  thought  during  the  first  six  centuries. 
The  special  examination  of  these  archaeological  remains  is,  however, 
precluded  by  the  limits  of  this  handbook. 


170  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAJN  ART. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 

Section  I. 

CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE  DURING  THE  FIRST  SIX  CENTURIES. 

The  primary  Christian  church  edifice  was  a  room  dedicated  to 
the  uses  of  a  worshipping  congregation.  There  is  a  fundamental 
difference,  therefore,  between  a  heathen  temple  and  a  Christian 
church.  The  temple  was  substantially  a  building  whose  chief  ar- 
tistic glory  was  on  the  outside.  It  was  practically  closed  to  the 
masses  of  the  people,  and  was  the  home  of  the  deity,  into  whose 
presence  approached  the  sacrificing  priest;  the  church,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  an  assembly  room  for  the  masses  of  the  people,  before 
whom  and  through  whom  divine  worship  was  conducted.  The  early 
church  buildings  were  very  simple  places  of  assembly,  but,  as  the 
Church  obtained  recognition  by  the  state,  church  architecture  ad- 
vanced beyond  the  mere  structure  for  utility  and  blossomed  out  into 
the  great  building  in  which  there  was  a  rich  union  of  architecture 
with  the  decorative  arts.  There  is,  therefore,  a  marked  contrast 
between  the  church  architecture  before  and  that  after  Constantine. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  in  Alexandria  the  great 
Christian  Church  of  that  splendid  city  worshipped  in  small  and  un- 
sightly edifices  ;  the  churches  of  Ravenna,  about  the  middle  of  the 
same  century,  are  described  as  "hovels."*  The  recognition  of 
Christianity  as  the  religion  of  the  state  had  the  effect  of  stimulat- 
ing church  building.  Heathen  emperors  vied  with  one  another  in 
the  erection  of  magnificent  temples  ;  Christian  emperors  caused  the 
erection  of  great  churches.  The  treasure  of  the  state  was  poured 
out  for  the  building  of  these  great  cathedrals.  Constantine  the 
Great  was  an  enthusiastic  builder,  and  numerous  churches  arose  in 
different  parts  of  the  empire  under  his  patronage.  Hardly  less 
zealous  in  this  direction  was  Theodosius  II,  but  to  Justinian  must 
be  awarded  the  palm  as  an  unprecedented  builder  of  churches,  not 
surpassed    in  any  century.     In  Byzantium  he  built  or  restored  St. 

'  Agnellus :  Lib.  pont.  eccl.  Rav.  Mon.  genu.  hist.  Script,  rer.  Lang  et  Jtal.  Han- 
over, 1878. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  171 

Sophia,  St.  Irene,  St.  Anna,  the  Church  of  the  Apostles,  the  Church 
of  St.  Michael,  three  churches  to  Mary,  besides  churches  or  chapels 
in  honor  of  Sts.  Paul  and  Peter,  Sergius  and  Bacchus,  Akacius, 
Plato,  Moschus,  Thyrsus,  Theodorus,  Thekla,  Theodota,  and  Agath- 
onicus.  He  built  at  Ephesus  a  magnificent  church  in  honour  of  the 
apostle  John.  He  enriched  Jerusalem  with  churches  and  cloisters. 
Hardly  a  great  centre  was  omitted  in  this  enlarging  and  enriching 
of  the  architectural  splendour  of  Christianity.  Preeminent  in  this 
post-Constantine  church  architecture  stands  the  magnificent  St. 
Sophia  in  Constantinople,  the  most  beautiful  church  edifice  ever 
erected,  costing  sixty-four  millions  of  dollars,  and  focusing  upon 
itself  the  thought  and  the  treasures  of  Justinian,  who  in  his  raptiire 
at  its  completion  exclaimed,  "I  have  surpassed  thee,  O  Solomon!  " 

The  bishops  emulated  the  state.  It  was  counted  an  honour  to 
erect  beautiful  churches.  With  the  decline  of  heathenism  many 
temples  were  transformed  into  churches.  Cloisters  arose.  In  the 
middle  of  the  fifth  century  there  were  fifteen  great  churches  in  Con- 
stantinople, besides  numerous  chapels  and  oratories.  Antioch  was 
hardly  surpassed  in  this  respect  by  Constantinople. 

The  West  had  not  kept  pace  with  the  East  in  church  building. 
This  was  owing  largely  to  the  material  backset  of  the  country,  the 
unsafe  condition  of  affairs,  and  the  presence  of  powerful  and  widely 
spread  masses  of  the  heathen.  Apart  from  Rome  only  one  great 
city  rivalled  the  Orient  in  church  architecture,  Ravenna.  Through 
the  influence  of  Galla  Placidia,  the  daughter  of  Theodosius  the 
Great,  a  decided  activity  in  church  building  was  aroused  in  Ravenna. 
Between  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries  this  city  was  enriched  with 
many  beautiful  structures,  basilicas  and  domed  churches,  which  were 
gorgeously  decorated  with  the  most  elaborate  sculpture  and  mosaic. 
We  must  look  to  Rome  for  the  greatest  activity  in  church  building 
during  this  period.  As  the  "  world  capital  "  and  the  seat  of  the 
chief  bishop  we  should  naturally  seek  in  this  great  metropolis  the 
richest  examjiles  of  church  architecture.  In  addition  to  smaller  ba- 
silicas in  and  about  the  city,  already  in  the  fourth  century  we  find 
great  structures  erected  over  the  reputed  graves  of  Peter  and  Paul, 
the  Basilica  Constantiniana  (the  Lateran),  the  Basilica  Liberiana 
(S.  Maria  Maggiore),  to  say  nothing  of  other  noble  edifices. 

The  zeal  of  the  bishops  not  only  filled  Rome  with  churches,  but 
at  Ostia,  Capua,  Albano,  and  Tibur  splendid  buildings  were  erected. 
Also  in  Gaul  and  in  North  Africa  were  notable  basilicas  which  ap- 
proached in  splendor  those  in  Italy.  Gregory  of  Tours  tells  us  that 
in  the  sixth  century  there  were  in  Gaul  numerous  churches  and 
cloisters.     The  type  of  building  which  prevailed  was  the  "basilica." 


172  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

Very  distinctly  marked  are  two  classes  of  this  form  of  church  edi- 
fice— the  Greek  and  the  Latin.  The  Greek  basilica  seems  most 
widely  scattered.  Beginning  with  Greece  proper,  we  find  this  form 
in  Thessalonica,  Palestine,  Egypt,  North  Africa,  and  in  the  farthest 
East.  The  Latin  form  prevailed  in  the  West,  with  the  exception 
of  Ravenna  and  its  neighborhood.  The  difierence  betAveen  the 
two  classes  is  found  chiefly  in  the  arrangement  of  the  various  apart- 
ments adjoining  the  main  room  and  in  the  disposition  of  the  vesti- 
bule. In  the  time  of  Justinian  in  the  East  there  came  into  existence 
a  style  of  church  architecture  which  has  taken  its  name  from  the 
place  of  its  origin,  Byzantium.  The  Byzantine  building,  or  "  cen- 
tral building,"  with  its  characteristic  dome,  rivalled  the  prevailing 
basilica.  St.  Sophia  claims  the  preeminence  as  the  first  and  most 
perfect  building  of  this  style. 

The  discussion  of  ecclesiastical  architecture  most  naturally  falls 
into  two  divisions — the  basilica  and  the  central  or  domed 
structure.' 

From  the  point  of  view  of  their  origin  and  structure  the  churches 
of  Rome  of  the  first  six  centuries  may  be  divided  into  six  classes  :  ^ 

1.  Rooms  of  private  houses,  where  the  first  prayer  meetings  were 
held.  Those  of  Pudens  and  his  daughters  and  of  Aquila  and  Pris- 
cilla  are  still  represented  by  churches  named  from  the  respective 
owners. 

2.  Scholse,  memorial  or  banqueting  halls  in  public  cemeteries, 
transformed  into  places  of  worship.  The  Christians  took  advan- 
tage of  the  freedom  allowed  to  burial  societies,  to  celebrate  special 
occasions,  receive  gifts,  and  erect  buildings  suitable  for  their 
meetings. 

3.  Oratories  and  churches  built  over  the  tombs  of  martyrs  and 
confessors.  Buildings  of  this  class,  necessarily  outside  the  city 
limits,  were  the  origin  of  some  of  the  grandest  structures  of  Chris- 
tian Rome. 

4.  Houses  of  confessors  and  martyrs.  "  This  class  of  buildings 
has  been  splendidly  illustrated  by  discoveries  made  under  the 
Church  of  Sts.  John  and  Paul,  on  the  Ctelian," 

5.  Pagan  monuments,  especially  temples,  converted  into  churches. 
"The  experience  gained  in  twenty-five  years  of  active  exploration 
in  ancient  Rome,  both  above  and  below  ground,  enables  me  to  state 
that  every  pagan  building  which  was  capable  of  giving  shelter  to  a 
congregation  was  transformed,  at  one  time  or  another,  into  a  church 
or  a  chapel." 

'  V.  Schultze  :   Arch,  der  alt  chr.  Kutist. 

*  Lanciani :  Pagan  mid  Christian  Rome,  p.  108,  _^. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  173 

6.  Memorials  of  historical  events.  "  The  first  commemorative 
chapel  erected  in  Rome  [the  Oratory  of  the  Holy  Cross]  is  per- 
haps contemporaneous  with  the  Arch  of  Constantine,  and  refei-s  to 
the  same  event,  the  victory  over  Maxentius.  .  .  .  The  name  must 
have  originated  from  a  monumental  cross  erected  on  the  battle- 
field in  memory  of  Constantine's  vision." 

Section  II. 

THE    CHRISTIAN    BASILICA. 

1.    Origin  of  the   Christian  Basilica. 

The  origin  of  the  species  of  Christian  church  called  basilica  has 
been  most  earnestly  investigated.  The  answer  to  the  question, 
"  Whence  arose  Christian  architecture  ?  "  would  also  fur- 

•  1  -1  1  1         T  •  ,.1  Origin   of    the 

nish  a  partial  answer  to  the  related  questions  or  the  con-   christian    ba- 

dition  of  art  feeling  in  the  early  Church,  the  originality  ^^^*^^* 

of  monuments  usually  called  Christian,  and  the  connection  of  the 

Roman  Christian  and  Gothic  architecture  with  the  early  Christian 

basilica  in  a  process  of  organic  art  development.'     The  subject  is 

one  of   great  difficulty,    on   account  of   the  fewness   of   surviving 

monuments   from   the   first  three  centimes,  and    from  the  meagre 

references  to  this  subject  in  the  writings  of  the  Christian  fathers, 

or  in  Vitruvius,  the  only  architect  of  the  first  century  whose  works 

have  come  down  to  our  time.     It  is  not,  therefore,  surprising  that 

able  wa-iters  should  have  differed  in  their  account  of  the  origin  of 

the  Christian  basilica. 

Various  opinions  have  divided  the  archaeologists.     I.  The  first  is 

that  advocated  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth  century   Aiberti's   the- 

by  Alberti,^  which  claims  that  the  early  Christian  basilica  S^^'  '^°°'  ^^ 
•/  ...  "  .  Romanba- 

is  a  close  imitation  of  the  Roman  pagan  basilica,  with  siuca. 

unimportant  departures  from  the  original.  By  placing  the 
plan  of  each  side  by  side,  to  the  superficial  observer  this  simi- 
larity appears  quite  striking  and  the  theory  plausible.  This  opinion 
was  accepted  by  leading  archaeologists  for  three  and  a  half  centuries.' 
2.  It  remained  almost  unchallenged  until  subjected  to  a  most  rig- 

^  "  With  respect  to  the  discovery  of  new  germs  (of  art)  in  the  period  of  the  down- 
fall, the  following  questions  especially  would  come  under  examination:  First,  the 
question  in  how  far  Christianity  had  a  share  therein  ?  "  etc.  v.  Mothes :  Die  Bau- 
kunst  des  Mittelalters,  etc.,  Bd.  i,  ss.  2,  3. 

^  De  Re  uSdificato7-ia.  Florentiis,  1485. 

^  The  English  authorities  seem  to  know  no  other  theory  of  tlie  origin  of  the  Christ- 
ian basilica  (v.  article  Basilica,  in  Encyclopcedia  Britannica,  and  in  Dictionary  of  Christ- 
ian Antiquities) ;  this  also  prevails  in  America. 
13 


174  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

idly  critical  examination  by  Zestermann '  in  1847.  This  writer  con- 
cedes that  the  resemblance  of  the  churches  of  the  fourth  century  to 
the  Roman  basilicas  in  respect  to  the  rows  of  columns  on  either  side, 
zestermann's  ^^^  lean-to  roof ,  the  enclosing  wall,  and  the  windows  rest- 
theory,  ing  upon  the  columns  beneath,  justifies  the  classification 
of  such  Christian  churches  under  the  term  basilica;  but  these  are 
insufficient  to  establish  an  organic  connection  between  the  Christian 
and  the  heathen  structures.  He  argues  that  the  Christian  basilica 
A  development  ^^^  chiefly  developed  through  the  needs  and  spirit  of 
from  the  the  Christian  church  itself,  and  is,  therefore,  a  distinct 
forum.  style  of  architecture.  In  the  solution  of  this  question 
the  stoa  basilica  and  the  agora,  found  at  Athens  in  the  time  of 
Pericles,  are  successively  examined  with  an  earnestness  and  learning 
truly  praiseworthy.  The  first  of  the  so-called  basilicas  at  Rome  was 
built  by  Marcus  Porcius  Cato  in  B.  C.  184.  After  this  followed 
others,  the  most  noted  of  which  were  the  Basilicas  Emilia,  Fulvia, 
Julia,  and  Ulpia.  From  Rome  these  buildings  were  extended 
throughout  the  entire  empire.  Zestermann  claims  that  they 
zestermaun's  f ^H  under  four  general  classes,  according  to  the  purposes 
fom- classes.  which  they  served;  namely,  the  law  basilicas,  the  private 
basilicas,  the  basilicas  for  pedestrian  exercises,  and  the  wine  basilicas. 
Each  of  these  had  peculiar  features  adapting  it  to  its  specific  uses. 
All  alike  appear  to  have  been  suggested  by  the  Roman  forum,  this 
general  type  being  modified  only  so  far  as  might  be  necessary 
by  the  greater  or  smaller  building  area.  This  author  rejects 
the  derivation  of  the  word  from  the  Greek,  in  the  sense  of  "  a 
house  of  the  king,"  or  "  a  royal  habitation,"  but  claims  that  even 
in  the  time  of  Plautus  the  word  basiUcus  had  ali'eady  become  a  dis- 
tinctively Roman  adjective,  meaning  "magnificent,"  "imposing," 
"  grand."  Hence,  to  distinguish  it  from  other  porticos,  the  building 
of  Cato  was  called  "porticus  basilieus,''''  the  magnificent  house,  and 
afterward  simply  "  basilica." 

The  Christians  applied  the  term  basilica  to  an  imposing  building 
used  only  for  ecclesiastical  purposes.  Zestermann  claims  that  the 
groundplan  and  the  arrangement  and  development  of  all  its  parts 
Sole  reference  had  sole  reference  to  the  purposes  and  needs  of  Christ- 
to  the  needs  of   -^^^^    worship,    and    no   relation    whatever    to    Roman 

Christian  wor-  a  ' 

ship.  pagan  buildings  of  like   name.     He  sees  the  progres- 

sive growth  of  the  Christian  society  revealing  itself  in  the  basilica, 
slowly  transforming  and  perfecting  it,  as  new  wants  arise,  until  the 

^  Die  antiken  u.  die  chrisflichen  Basiliken  nach  ihren  Entstehung,  Ausbildimg,  u.  Bezie- 
hung  zu  einander.  Tliis  was  crowned  as  the  prize  essay  by  the  Belgian  Academy  of 
Arts,  Literature,  and  the  Fine  Arts. 


EARLY    CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE.  175 

imposing  structures  of  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  centuries  were  the 
outcome.     In  harmony  with  this  opinion  he  professes 
to  be  able  to  group  the  early  churches  into  five  classes,   ofgarfy  Christ- 
each  one  of  which  represents  a  stage  in  the  attempt  to  lan  churches. 
properly  adapt  them  to  the  needs  of  Christian  worship  : 

(1.)  Buildings  of  an  oblong  form  with  a  middle  and  side  naves. 

(2.)  Those  of  oblong  form  with  middle  and  side  naves  and  an 
apse. 

(3.)  Those  of  oblong  form,  middle  and  side  naves,  apse,  and  tran- 
sept. 

(4.)  Those  of  oblong  form,  middle  and  side  naves,  apse,  and  tran- 
sept; but  without  an  atrium,  and  having  the  porch  leaning  on  the 
main  building. 

(5.)  Those  having  the  characteristics  of  the  last  class,  but  having 
several  apses. 

This  writer  defends  his  theory  with  great  learning,  and  concludes 
that  "  the  origination  and  development  of  the  Christian  basilica  are 
completely  explained  by,  and  find  their  justification  in,  the  activities 
and  needs  of  the  Christian  spirit."  ^ 

3.  A  third  opinion  has  been  defended  with  much  earnestness  and 
with  great  wealth  of  learning.  It  holds  that  the  early  Christian  ba- 
silica was  developed  from  the  ancient  private  house  and  the  Greek  hy- 
prethral  temple.^  The  following  considerations  are  urged  in  favor 
of  this  origin:  After  their  complete  separation  from  Hypsethrai 
the  Jewish  Church  the  Christians  assembled  in  private  temple. 
houses  for  worship.     This  is  distinctly  stated  in  the  Acts  of  the 

Apostles,  in  the  Epistles,  and  by  the  early  Christian       .    ^    ^ 

^  '  -i  '  •'  P    1      -rj  Private  house. 

fathers.     The  accepted  and  regular  form  of  the  Roman 

house  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  can  be  well  ascertained, 

and  the  adaptation  or  adjustment  of  such  a  room  to  the  purposes  of 

a  Christian  assembly  can  be  easily  traced.     The  resemblance  of  these 

'  Zestermaim  has  a  zealous  disciple  in  J.  Kreuser:  Christlicher  Kirchenbau,  1851 
and  1860  ;  and  still  more  positively  iu  his  Wiederum  Christlicher  Kirchenbau,  1868. 
This  author  holds,  1.  That  the  Christian  basilicas  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  attic  royal 
hall.  2.  Under  the  term,  hypsethral  temple,  he  can  understand  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  a  building  that  is  open  and  free  to  the  light  and  air.  Diogenes's  tub  in  the 
street  might  be  an  example  of  a  hypajthral  building.  .3.  Zestermann  is  the  foremost 
and  best  author  who  has  written  on  the  basilica,  and  his  explanation  of  its  origin  is 
the  only  correct  one.  4.  Egypt  had  the  first  basilica.  From  two  passages  in  the 
Talmud  it  is  evident  that  this  name  was  peculiar  to  Egyptian  works  of  architecture. 
5.  The  Egyptian,  or,  more  strictly,  the  Africano-Palestine,  method  of  building  was 
copied  in  Rome,  and  from  these  arose  the  basilicas  for  holding  the  courts  of  law. 

2  W.  Weingartner  :  Ursprung  und  Entwickelung  des  christlichen  Kirchengehaudes. 
Leipzig,  1858. 


176  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

to  the  early  Christian  churches  is  seen  in  the  peristyle,  and  the  so- 
called  ceci  lying  behind  it.  These  two  rooms  were  related  to  each 
other  both  in  space  and  situation  very  nearly  as  were  the  parts  of 
Herod's  temple  at  Jerusalem,  which  was  built  in  the  Grecian  style. 
After  the  destruction  of  this  temple,  and  the  spread  of  Christianity 
over  the  known  world,  it  was  natural  that  the  Christians,  when  erect- 
ing independent  houses  of  worship,  should  take  their  suggestions  from 
the  Grseco-Roman  temples,  which  contained  all  the  essential  parts  of 
a  Christian  church.  It  was  also  natural  that  the  form  should  be 
selected  which  had  been  most  perfected,  and  most  nearly  satisfied 
the  demand  for  the  observance  of  their  own  religious  services. 
This  was  the  hyprethral  temple.  It  was  oj^en  to  the  sky,  thus 
giving  abundance  of  light,  and  had  a  recess,  the  cella,  where  could 
stand  the  high  altar  for  the  celebration  of  the  eucharist.  This 
cella,  which  was  taken  from  the  circular  or  polygonal  burial  temples, 
was  demanded  by  the  Christian  societies,  since  soon  afterward  a 
place  of  worship,  and  a  place  of  burial  for  the  martyr  or  saint 
CO  whom  the  church  was  dedicated,  were  combined  in  the  same 
building.  With  the  exception  of  the  greater  elevation  of  the 
middle  nave,  the  outer  form  of  the  hypsethral  temple  corresponded 
to  that  of  the  Christian  church.  Still  more  close  was  the  likeness 
of  their  interior  arrangement.  This  influence  of  the  pagan  temple 
upon  the  Christian  building  was  most  apparent  in  the  time  of 
Constantine.  It  was  seen  in  the  use  of  like  terms,  in  the  adoption 
of  the  circular  or  polygonal  groundplan,  and  in  working  out  the 
details  of  the  interior.  The  ground  outline,  the  rows  of  columns, 
and  the  consequent  division  of  the  interior  space  into  naves,  the 
lower  porticos,  the  choir  and  its  general  arrangement,  the  sacra- 
mental table,  the  baldachin,  the  place  of  burial  for  the  martyr, 
the  crypts  beneath,  the  apse,  and,  later,  the  amhos,  or  reading 
desks  near  the  front  railing,  are  all  prefigured  in  the  Roman  pagan 
temples.  The  purest  form  of  the  continiaation  of  the  antique 
temples  were  the  Roman  basilicas,  which  maintained  their  peculiar 
characteristics  as  late  as  the  twelfth  century.' 

This  writer  thus  attempts  to  show  the  intimate  relation  and 
dependence  of  the  early  Christian  churches  on  the  private  house, 
and  especially  on  the  hypsethral  temple,  both  in  external  form 
and  interior  arrangement.  He  holds  that  the  law  basilicas  of 
the  Romans  were  so  entirely  different  from  the  Christian  that  it 
is  unscientific  to  regard  the  latter  as  the  continuation  and  per- 
fection of  the  former,  and  claims  that  the  Christian  church  could 
only  be  dei'ived  from  the  ancient  private  house,  with  such  sug- 
'  z;.  Weingiirtner :    Op.  cil.,  ss.  136,  13*7. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  177 

gestions    as    were     afforded    by    the    hypaethral    temple    of    the 
Greeks. 

4.  A  fourth  theory  of  the  origin  and  development  of  the  Christ- 
ian basilica  has  been  suggested  and  very  ably  defended  Messmer's  the- 
by  Dr.  J.  A.  Messmer.'  He  starts  from  the  well  at-  o^y. 
tested  fact  that  the  earliest  Christian  societies  were  accustomed  to 
assemble  in  the  private  house  of  some  one  of  their  number,  and  in 
the  room  most  spacious  and  convenient  for  their  services,  and  which 
at  the  same  time  would  best  afford  protection  from  sudden  interrup- 
tions by  their  enemies.  Plainly  this  would  be  the  triclinium,  or 
banqueting-room.  Among  the  Romans  this  was  a  rec-  From  the  tn- 
tangle,  whose  length  was  twice  the  breadth.  The  ciinium. 
more  wealthy  the  owner  of  the  house  the  more  spacious  and  elegant 
was  this  room,  and  the  more  nearly  did  it  resemble  the  form  of  the 
basilicas  which  were  found  in  the  palaces  of  the  more  noted  Ro- 
mans. These  dining-rooms  of  the  nobles  ai"e  so  minutely  described 
by  Vitruvius  that  we  cannot  be  in  doubt  with  regard  to  their  form, 
arrangement,  and  decoration  (v.  Fig.  78).  Rows  of  columns,  both 
Corinthian  and  Egyptian,  often  supported  architraves  and  beams  on 
which  a  place  for  promenading  was  constructed,  while  above  were 
other  columns  supporting  a  roof  or  a  wall  pierced  with  windows  for 
lighting  the  interior.  In  these  rooms  public  business  was  fre- 
quently transacted  and  legal  causes  determined.  We  also  read  of 
a  church  in  the  houses  of  wealthy  public  men  who  had  accepted 
Christianity,  as  in  the  case  of  Pudens  and  Aquila.^ 

Jerome  assures  us  that  the  noble  Lateranus  opened  his  private 
basilica  for  the  assembly  of  the  Christians,  and  that  it  ^. 

afterward  was  transformed  into  one  of  the  most  noble  christ- 
splendid  churches  of  Rome.  Ammianus  Marcellinus  ^  "^"^" 
says  that  a  like  assembly  found  a  stated  place  of  meeting  in  the 
Basilica  of  Sicinianus,  another  noted  Roman.  There  is  trustworthy 
evidence  that  such  change  from  the  triclinium  of  the  house  of 
a  wealthy  citizen,  named  Theophilus,  to  a  Christian  church  took 
place  at  Antioch  in  the  first  half  of  the  third  century;  and  it 
seems  incredible  that  the  pseudo-Clement  could  mention  in  his  ro- 
mance these  transformations  of  private  basilicas  into  Christian 
churches  unless  the  fact  was  well  known.     Thus,  while  the  triclin- 

'  Ueber  den  Ursprvng,  die  Entwickehmg,  und  Bedeutung  der  Basilika  in  der  christ- 
lichen  Baukunst.  Leipzig,  1854.  Also  and  more  thorouglily  in  an  article,  Ueber  den 
Ursprung  der  christlichen  Basilika,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fu,r  christUche  Archmologie  und 
Kunst.  1859,  vol.  ii. 

«  I  Cor.  xvi,  19.     V.  also  p.  30. 

^  Ammian.  Marcellin.,  xxvii,  3.     "  Et  in  concertatione,"  etc. 


178  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

iuin  of  the  private  house  and  the  private  basilicas  of  the  more 
wealthy  were  used  for  the  assembly  and  woi-ship  of  the  early  Christ- 
ians, it  was  found  that  they  combined,  more  fully  than  any  others, 
elements  of  architecture  which  were  afterward  developed  into 
the  distinctive  edifice  known  by  the  generic  name  of  Christian  ba- 
silica. While  the  Roman  name  was  retained,  the  building  w^as  trans- 
formed by  the  peculiar  power  of  the  new  religion.  Thus  was  pro- 
vided  a  type  of  church  architecture  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  genius 
of  Christianity,  and  in  many  respects  the  most  convenient  ever 
devised.  Christianity  became  the  heir  to  the  late  Roman  art,  but 
its  inheritance  was  improved  and  perfected  by  a  new  and  living 
spirit. 

5.  A  fifth  theory,  very  ably  advocated  by  Dehio,'  finds  the  germs 
Dehio's  theory  ^^  ^^^  Christian  basilica  in  the  private  house,  in  which 
from  the  pri-  for  two  centuries  the  early  Church  was  accustomed  to 
vate  house.  meet  for  worship.  He  attempts  to  trace  this  develop- 
ment, step  by  step,  from  the  simplest  structure  of  the  common  Ro- 
man dwelling-house  to  its  perfected  form  in  the  imposing  basilicas 
of  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries. 

6.  The  latest  theory  is  that  recently  advanced  by  Professor  Lange, 
From  the  scho-  of  Halle,*  and  substantially  accepted  by  Professor  G-. 
'*•  Baldwin  Brown,^  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  This 
theory  traces  the  beginnings  of  Christian  architecture  to  the  pa- 
gan schola.  While  the  architectural  evidence  cited  in  support  of 
this  view  is  not  decisive,  it  is  believed  that  from  the  outward  resem- 
blance of  the  Christian  communities  to  the  various  religious  organi- 
Argued  from  nations  and  clubs  of  the  heatlien  world,*  and  from  the 
the  likeness  of   confounding  of  these  by  the  legal  authorities,  it  would 

the    church   to  ,,        „   ,,  ,  ^     •         ^  c  i  i 

other  organiza-  naturally  loUow  that  their  places  oi  assembly  must 
**''°^-  have  been  similar  in  outward  appearance  and  in   in- 

ternal arrangement.  The  adaptation  of  these  scholce  to  the  needs 
of  Christian  worship  is  pointed  out,  and  the  fact  that  the  protection 
of  government  given  to  the  clubs  would  thus  be  extended  to  the 
Christian  assemblies  is  emphasized. 

These  different  theories  of  the  origin  of  the  Christian  basilica 
An  eclectic  ilhistrate  the  difiiculties  of  the  subject.  It  seems  prob- 
^^^-  able  that  each  contains  a  partial  truth,  and  that  by  a 

judicious  eclecticism  a  juster  view  of  the  beginnings  and  growth 

'  Die  Genesis  der  christlichen  Basilika.     Miinchen,  1883. 

*  Haus  unci  Halle.     Leipzig,  1885. 

8  From  Schola  to  Cathedral.     Edinburgh,  1886. 

*  Hatch :  Organization  of  the  Earhj  Christian  Churches,  London,  1892,  ha?  devel- 
oped this  subject,  using  with  great  effect  the  monumental  evidence. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE.  179 

of  early  Christian  architecture  may  be  gained.     Let  us  look  at  some 
well-established  facts. 

The  first  Christians  assembled  for  worship  in  the  temple,'  in  pri- 
vate houses,"  in  upper  rooms,  through  fear  of  disturbance  and  perse- 
cution from  their  enemies,^  in  the  synagogues  of  the  Jews,*  and  by 
the  river  side.^  In  the  synagogiies,  which  had  been  founded  in 
every  chief  city  of  the  empire,  the  apostles  could  ad-  Advantages  of 
dress  a  multitude  composed  of  Jewish  and  non-Jewish  ^be  synagogue. 
elements.^  Doubtless  the  free  republican  spirit  which  characterized 
the  service,  in  marked  contrast  with  the  exclusiveness  of  the  temple, 
was  another  reason  for  the  assembling  of  the  apostles  and  first 
Christians  in  these  buildings.  Moreover,  the  synagogues  were 
places  for  consultation,  and  for  discussion  of  questions  upon  which 
the  opinions  of  the  rabbis  were  divided;  so  that  persons  of  vigorous 
intellect  and  of  inquiring  spirit  were  often  attracted  to  them. 
This  is  manifest  from  the  accounts  given  of  the  Berean  Jews,' 
as  well  as  from  the  fact  that  Paul  could  speak  freely  in  the  synagogue 
at  Ephesus  "  for  the  space  of  three  months,  reasoning  and  persuad- 
ing as  to  the  things  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God.^ 

The  fact  that  some  of  the  Judaizing  sects,  as  the  Ebionites,  still 
resorted  to  the  synagogues  for  worship'  may  suggest  one  reason 
why,  during  the  first  century,  the  pagan  world  regarded  . 

the  Christians  as  only  a  sect  of  Jews,  and  why  the  fierce  judged  a  sect 
opposition  of  the  latter  to  the  Christians  was  judged  by  °^  ^^^  •'®^^'^" 
the  Roman  governors  to  be  of  little  importance  in  the  eye  of  the 
civil  law.'"     While  despised  by  the  pagan  world,  the  Jews  had,  nev- 
ertheless, received  at  the  hands  of  some  of  the  emperors   Privileges     of 
very  favorable  regard,  and  were  granted  some  most  val-  ^^^  Jevrs. 
uable  immunities.     The  inscriptions  and  art  remains  of  the  Jewish 
catacombs  at  Rome  entirely  confirm  the  testimony  of     incidentally 
the  literary  monuments  touching  this  point.     With  this     t?  toe^lnS 
erroneous    conception    respecting    the    true    nature   of     church. 
Christianity  was  connected  a  decided  advantage  to  its  first  adherents. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  thereby  the  early  Church  secured 
exemption  from  sweeping  persecution  just  at  the  time  of  its  great- 
est need.      Even    at  the   close  of   the    second  century  a  Christian 
father  of  eminent  ability  recognises  this  obligation." 

'   Acts  iii,  1;  v,  12.  "  Acts  xii,  12,  seq. 

3  Acts  i,  13  ;  XX,  7-9.  ■*  Acts  ix,  20 ;  xiii,  5,  16,  et  al. 

5  Acts  xvi,  13.  «  Acts  xiii,  16,  26,  44,  46,  48;  xiv,  1;  xviii,  4, 

''  Acts  xvii,  11.  ^  Acts  xix,  8. 

9  Irenteiis:  Adv.  Hares,  lib.  i,  c.  26.  "*  Acts  xviii,  12-17. 

"  Tertullian:  Ajyologet.,  c.  21. 


180  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTLiN  ART. 

But  from  the  first  it  was  manifest  that  Christ  had  established  a 
Church  whose  spirit  could  not  be  confined  within  the  narrow  limits 
of  Judaism,  The  events  at  Ephesus  are  instructive.  The  awakened 
hostility  compelled  the  withdrawal  of  the  Christians  from  the  syna- 
gogue, and  they  assembled  in  the  school  of  one  Tyrannus/  where 
these  meetings  were  "  continued  by  a  space  of  two  years."  A  some- 
what similar  state  of  things  existed  in  Corinth.*  Various  pas- 
sages in  the  history  of  the  apostolic  Churcli  clearly  prove  that  the 
A  separate  customary  places  of  meeting  were  in  upper  rooms'  or 
Tng^^in*  private  "^  pi'ivate  houses."  This  was  the  case  at  Troas;'  and 
houses.  Aquila   and   Priscilla,^    "with    the   church    that   is   in 

their  house,"  send  salutations  to  the  Corinthian  brethren.  Also 
Paul  sends  greetings  to  "Nymphas  and  the  church  which  is  in 
his  house,"'  and  to  Philemon  and  "the  church  in  thy  house."' 
His  own  custom  for  two  years  was  to  receive  all  who  came  unto 
him  in.  his  own  private  house  at  Rome,  "preaching  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  teaching  those  things  which  concern  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." ' 

The  continuance  of  the  custom  of  gathering  in  private  houses 
The  custom  after  the  apostolic  age  is  clearly  evidenced  from  the 
continued.  literary  monuments  both  Christian  and  pagan.  It  is 
well-nigh  demonstrable  that  the  worship  of  the  Christian  Church  for 
nearly  two  hundred  years  was  chiefly  a  private  service,  avoiding 
the  publicity  permitted  to  a  religion  already  recognised  and  pro- 
tected by  the  state."  So  far  as  can  be  known,  to  the  close  of  the 
second  century  no  stately  or  characteristic  buildings  for  the  cere- 
monies of  Christian  worship  had  been  erected.  Probably  some 
houses  had  already  been  erected  and  set  apart  for  Christian 
services,  but  they  must  have  been  unpretentious,  and  probably 
mostly  of  the  nature  of  private  halls,  or  of  the  class  of  buildings 

called  scholce,  which  were  either  sriven  by  the  wealthier 
Scholffi.  o  ./ 

members,    statedly   thrown   open    for   the  use   of   the 

societies,"  or  built  by  means  of  a  common  fund.  Doubtless,  how- 
ever, these  unpretentious  buildings  contained  evidences  of  the  art 
susceptibility  which  had  already  found  expression  in  the  earlier 
pictures  of  the  catacombs. 

In  consequence  of  the  high  esteem  felt  for  the  confessors  and 

'  Acts  xix,  9.  ^  Acts  xviii,  7.  ^  Acts  i,  13. 

*  Acts  vii,  15.  5  ^cts  xx,  7,  8.  M  Cor.  xvi.  19. 

■'  Col.  iv,  15.  8  Philem.  2.  »  Acts  xxviii,  30,  31. 

'"  Pliny :  EpisL,  lib.  x,  ep.  96. 

"  The  houses  of  Pudentiana  and  of  Lucina  at  Rome,  and  of  Briccius  and  Euto- 
chius  at  Tours,  are  familiar  examples. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  181 

martyrs,  the  practice  of  burial  feasts  and  festivals  soon  arose. 
Celebrated  sometimes  in  the  houses  and  sometimes  Burial  festivals 
in  the  catacombs,  tliose  festivals  exerted  a  powerful  and  chapels, 
influence  on  the  architectural  arrangement  of  the  places  of  meeting, 
and  on  the  furniture  and  art  of  the  church.  Feasts  in  honor 
of  the  dead  were  very  common  among  the  pagan  peo-  pagan  sugges- 
ples,  and  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  'ion. 
Christians  found  in  them  many  suggestions  for  their  own  practices. 
From  the  reign  of  Marcus  Aurelius  burial  festivals  became  espe- 
cially frequent,  on  account  of  the  great  number  of  devoted  men 
and  women  who  were  victims  of  the  terrible  persecutions.     It  is 

plain  that  the  arrangement  of  the  meeting-houses  and   ,  „  . 

^  ^^    _  _  ^  Influence      of 

the  nature  of  the  services  were  modified  through  the   the   tombs  of 
great  reverence  for  those  whose  remains  were  deposited  '^'^^'■ys- 
in  crypts  beneath  the  altars  of  the  churches,  or  in  the  small  chapels 
where  the  hunted  Church  gathered  for  the  celebration  of  the  meal 
in  memory  of  the  sainted  dead. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  cen- 
tury private  houses  were  still  in  general  use  for  divine  worship,  and 
for  the  meetings  of  the  Christian  societies.  Optatus  is  very  specific 
in  his  information  touching  this  subject,  speaking  of  Meetings  in 
various  members  in  whose  houses  such  assemblies  were   P"^^f®  '^?!!*^^ 

in     the     third 

accustomed  to  be  held."  But  the  changed  social  con-  century. 
dition  of  the  Church,  which  now  reckoned  among  its  adherents  some 
of  the  noted  families  of  the  capital  and  of  the  empire,  was  more 
favorable  to  the  erection  of  buildings  devoted  exclusively  to  Chris- 
tian uses.  It  is  impossible  to  determine  their  number,  size,  and 
degree  of  elegance.  Optatus  informs  us  that  the  Notices  of 
schismatics  destroyed  forty  churches  which  had  been  churches  in  the 
the  property  of  the  orthodox  party  at  Rome.  He  calls  ^^'^"^  century. 
them  "  basilicas,"  but  their  peculiar  character  he  does  not  indi- 
cate. We  also  have  the  account  of  the  erection  of  a  very  impos- 
ing structure  at  Nicomedia  in  the  last  part  of  the  third  century,* 
as  well  as  of  its  destruction  at  the  beginning  of  the  execution  of 
Diocletian's  edict  to  raze  all  the  Christian  churches  and  burn  the 
sacred  books. 

It  must,  however,  be  remembered  that  not  until  the  reign  of 
Commodus  did  entire  families  of  the  Roman  aristocracy  pass  over 
to  the  Christian  Church,  and  that,  two  generations  after  Con- 
stantine,  Christianity  could  claim  hardly  a  majority  of  the  prom- 
inent families  of  Rome.     For  the  first  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 

'  De  schism.  Donat,  i,  14,  23 ;  v.  also  Acta  Martyrum,  cc.  8,  9. 
'  Eusebius:  Hist.  Ecclesioi,  lib,  vlii,  cc.  1,  2. 


183 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


the  adherents  of  Christianity  were  largely  of  the  middle  and  lower 
classes,  and  were,  therefore,  accustomed  to  the   simple  ^ 

'  '  i         Few  noble  and 

Roman  dwelhng-house,  or  were  crowded  together  in  the  wealthy  christ- 
many-storied  tenant  houses  of  Rome  and  of  the  larger  *^'^^- 
towns.  While  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that,  from  the  second 
century,  converts  from  noble  families  opened  or  devoted  their  spacious 
dwellings  to  the  Church  for  Christian  worship,  this  number  must, 
nevertheless,  have  been  comparatively  insignificant.  In  times  of 
peace  the  common  dwelling-house  was  the  usual  place  for  the  cele- 
bration of  the  sacraments,  and  for  the  instruction  and  edification  of 
believers.     It  is  incredible  that  these  forty  so-called  basilicas  at 

Rome,  near  the  close  of  the  third  cen- 
tury, were  elegant  dwellings  furnished 
by  the  richer  and  nobler  Relations     of 

members.     Rather    must   "^  ^''JM^ 

houses   to  the 

we  suppose  that  the  main  churches, 
features  of  the  rooms  in  which  the 
Christians  were  accustomed  to  as- 
semble, and  of  the  service  which  had 
been  adjusted  to  this  environment  for 
two  and  one  half  centuries,  would  im- 
press themselves  upon  the  more  impos- 
ing churches  which  were  erected  during 
the  peaceful  interval  of  forty  years  be- 
between  the  reigns  of  Decius  and 
Diocletian,  and  after  final  exemption 
from  persecution  had  been  ensured. 
It  is,  therefore,  important  to  examine 
the  form  and  arrangement  of  the  or- 
dinary dwelling-house  of  the  empire. 

Fig.  66.-The  House  of  Pansa  (Casa  di  There  was  a  general  uniformity  in 
Pansa),  Pompeii.  An  elegant  Roman  the  internal  arrangement  of  the  early 
^°^^^-  Greek  and  the  Italian  private  house.' 

The  chief  sources  of  information  are  Vitruvius,  the  Capitoline 
Fragments,  and  the  houses  which  have  been  disinterred  ^^^  Roman 
on  various  sites,  as  Pompeii,  Herculaneura,  etc.  From  dwelling- 
these  we  infer  the  most  important  portions  of  the  Ro-  °"*'^" 
man  house.  First  was  the  vestibulum,  which  was  a  vacant  space 
before  the  door,  forming  a  kind  of  court,  one  side  of  ns  arrange- 
which  opened  upon  the  street,  the  other  sides  bounded  ^ents. 
by  the  house  itself.  From  the  vestibule  a  passage  or  hall,  called 
the  ostium  {v.  Fig.  66,  A),  led  to  the  main  room  of  the  interior,  which 
1  Momnasen:  History  of  Rome,  vol.  i,  pp.  46  and  307. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


183 


went  under  the  names  of  the  atrium  and  cavmdium,  B  (cavum, 
cedium).  This  was  roofed  over,  with  the  exception  of  an  opening 
in  the  center,  the  comphivium,  toward  which  the  roof  sloped  to 
conduct  the  rain  into  a  cistern  in  the  floor,  the  i?npluvmm,  I.  In 
the  rear  of  the  atrium  was  the  tahlinum,  E,  and  right  and  left  the 
aim,  DD.  On  the  sides  of  the  atrium  were  found  the  sleeping- 
rooms,  Guhicula,  CC,  and  behind  and  on  either  side  the  triclinium 
were  the  servants  rooms,  CC.  The  triclinium  is  open,  and  allows 
an  uninterrupted  view  of  the  other  parts  of  the  house.  Vitruvius 
refers  to  five  kinds  of  atria,'  representing  as  many  stages  in  the 
development  of  the  Roman  house.  The  atrium  Tus-  nve  classes  of 
caniciDii  was  the  earliest  and  most  simple  (Fig.  67).  the  atrium. 
In  this  the  roof  was  supported  by  four  beams,  crossing  at  right 
angles,  thus  forming  the 
comphivium.  It  is  plain  mmn 
that  this  construction  was 
available  only  in  the  smaller 
houses.  The  atrium  tetra- 
stylum  differed  from  the  first 
in  that  the  beams  were  sup- 
ported at  their  intersection 
by  columns,  instead  of  ex- 
tending to  the  walls  of  the 
house.  This  would  admit 
of  an  enlargement  of  the 
atrium.  In  the  atrium, 
corinthium  the  beams  were 
supported  by  rows  of  col- 
umns, thus  giving  opportu- 
nity of  farther  enlargement.'  In  the  atrium  displuviatum,  the  roof 
sloped  outward  toward  the  walls,  instead  of  inward  to- 
ward the  comphivium — thus  carrying  the  water  away 
from  the  interior  impluvium  (v.  Fig.  68).  The  atrium  testudina- 
tum  was  entirely  roofed  over,  and  lacked  the  compluvium,  and  con- 
sequently the  interior  impluvium  (v.  Fig.  69).  The  atrium  was  the 
chief  room.  In  the  ordinary  dwellings  it  was  devoted  to  uses  for  the 
a  variety  of  uses,  to  the  customary  intercourse  and  the  'i*""™- 
festivities  of  the  family ;  in  the  houses  of  the  wealthy  it  was  fitted 
up  with  magnificence,  and  was  the  reception  room  where  the  patron 
was  accustomed  to  meet  clients,  hear  petitions,  and  dispense  favors. 

'  vi,  3. 

'^In  fig.  67  these  columns  and  the  changed  interior  thus  resulting  can  be  easily  sup- 
plied by  the  imagination. 


Fig.  67.— Atrium  Tuscanlcum. 


Description. 


184 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


Fig.  68.— Atrium  displuviatum. 


At  the  further  end  of  the  atrium,  opposite  the  entrance,  was  the  deep 
recess  or  room,  called  the  tablinion,  which  could  be  made  private 
by  means  of  folding  doors  or  hangings.  It  was  the  place  of  honor, 
In  the  repubii-  the  seat  of  the  householder.  On  either  side  of  the  atrium, 
can  period.  leading  right  and  left,  were  small  recesses  or  rooms, 
called  alee  (v.  Fig.  67).  Such  seems  to  have  been  the  simple  arrange- 
ment of  the  Roman  house 
at  the  end  of  the  republican 
period.  In  the  country,  and 
during  the  early  history  of 
the  cities,  it  was  of  one  story, 
or,  at  most,  it  added  a  second 
story  in  which  were  the  eicbi- 
cula,  or  bed-chambers,  whose 
breadth  and  height  to  the 
cross  beams  were  one  third 
or  one  fourth  the  length  of 
the  atrium. 

But  in  the  period  of  the 
empire,  when  the  crowded 
condition  of  the  towns  made 
building  sites  expensive,  and  the  increasing  wealth  of  leading 
families  created  a  demand  for  more  elegant  dwellings,  the  con- 
struction of  the  Roman  house  underwent  an  important  change 
which  is  connected  with  the  history  of  early  Christian  architecture. 
The  enlargement  of  the  dwelling  could  be  attained  only  by  in- 
Eniarged  in  Creasing  its  length;  hence  the  more  elegant  Roman 
imperial  houses,  after  the  manner  of  the  Greeks,  added  to  the 
simple  atrium  a  large  space  in  the  rear.  This,  the  /)eW- 
style,  (Fig.  66,  GG),  was  a  court  open  to  the  sky  in  the  center, 
which  was  surrounded  by  columns,  and  was  somewhat  larger  than 
The  peristyle  the  compluvium  of  the  atrium.  In  the  center  of  this 
and  triclinium,  peristyle  was  a  plot  for  grass  and  flowers,  and  at  the 
sides  the  triclinia,  KK,  or  rooms  in  which  the  couches  and  tables 
were  usually  placed  for  social  or  religious  feasts.'  At  the  rear  of 
the  peristyle  in  the  larger  and  more  imposing  houses  was  found  the 
Cecils,  L,  which  held  the  same  relation  to  the  peristyle  as  did  the 

'  Fortunately  the  excavations  have  revealed  examples  of  each  class  of  the  Roman 
Examnl  f  o  ^ouse.  The  so-called  casa  di  Sallustio  (Sallust's  house),  in  Pompeii, 
Pompeii.  ^^^  ^  groundplan  almost  precisely  answering  to  our  description  of 

the  atrium,  with  its  a'pe  raised  to  admit  the  light;  while  the  casa  di 
Pansa  (Fig.  66)  is  a  tine  example  of  the  more  pretentious  houses,  with  the  peristyle 
and  its  architectural  accompaniments. 


the 
period. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITEOTURE.  185 

tablinum  to  the  atrium.  It  was  sometimes  semicircular.'  From  tlie 
cecus  a  passage  led  to  the  porch,  PP,  whence  was  a  way  to  the  gar- 
den in  the  rear. 

Doubtless  the  private  basilicas  of  the  more  wealthy  familie?  that 
had  embraced  Christianity  contained  architectural  elements  which 
afterward  found  expression  in  the  churches  of  the  Constantinian 
and  post-Constantine  periods,  but  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  they 
furnished  all  the  essential  norms  of  the  Christian  architecture  of 
the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries.^ 

The  lighting  of  the  dwelling-house  is  connected  directly  with  the 
history  of  Christian  ecclesiastical  architecture.  In  the  simplest 
Roman  house  the  atrium  was  lighted  from  the  vestibule.  At  a 
later  stage  of  the  development,  the  alse  were  extended  Lighting  the 
to  the  roof  and  sides,  thus  admitting  abundant  light  to  interior. 
the  interior.  When  the  houses  in  the  towns  became  continuous, 
and  the  sides  were  bounded  by  continuous  walls,  a  new  method  of 
lighting  the  inner  rooms  was  required.  The  most  obvious  way  was 
to  admit  light  through  the  compluvium.  But  the  defence  against 
moisture  and  cold  required  that  this  central  opening  be  protected, 
while  light  might  still  be  admitted.  The  construction  Guarding  the 
of  a  gabled  roof,  supported  by  columns  above  the  com-  compluvium. 
pluvium,  thus  shielding  the  interior  from  cold  and  rain  and  yet 
allowing  a  free  admission  of  light,  was  the  next  step  in  the  solution 
of  the  problem.  This  gave  rise  to  a  structure  represented  by 
Fig.  68,  which  is  a  conjectural  reproduction  of  the  form  which 
the  atrium  displuviatum  would  thus  assume.  From  this  figure 
it  may  be  seen  how  the  spaces  on  the  enclosing  walls,  as  well  as 
on  those  separating  the  atrium  from  the  latei'al  apartments,  were 
preserved,  and  which  afterward  furnished  opportunity  for  the 
extended  ornamentation  introduced  into  the  churches. 

The  more  recent  excavations  in  Rome,  Syria,  and  North  Africa 
have  brought  into  prominence  other  architectural  forms  which  had 
manifest  influence  on  the  development  of  the  Christian  basilica. 
They  are  the  curia,  the  cella,  and  the  schola.  These  terms  The  ceiia  and 
were  applied  to  the  meeting-houses  of  associations,  where  schoia. 
the  members  were  accustomed  to  assemble  for  business  purposes 


From    Hercu- 


'  The  celsbrated  villa  of  Herculaneum,  the  largest  and  richest  which  has  yet  been 
excavated,  lacks  the  oecus.     The  villa  in  the  Farnese  garden  and  the 
house  of  Livia  on  the  Palatine  have  no  peristyle ;  while  the  recently 
discovered   atrium   of   Vesta,    which   is  one  of  the   most   elegant     jjomg 
dwelling-houses  yet  excavated  in  Rome,  has  a  very  spacious  oecus, 
but  lacks  the  peristyle. 

"^  This  is  virtually  the  theory  of  Messnier  and  of  Schultze. 


186 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


or  for  advancing  the  interests  of  their  organization.  These  socie> 
ties  were  very  numerous,  and  were  carefully  guarded  by  legal 
enactments.     The  places  of  gathering  were  called  curije,  or  scholae. 


Fig.  69.— Atrium  displuviatum  with  covered  compluvium. 

according  to  the  dignity  and  importance  of  the  body  therein 
assembling;  usually  the  term  curiae  being  applied  to  halls  of  greater 
size  which  were  used  for  public  business,  the  term  scholae  to  build- 
ings occupied  by  private  clubs.  Among  the  more  important  of 
such  organizations  were  the  burial  guilds.  On  account  of  the  great 
regard  of  the  Romans  for  their  dead,  special  privileges  The  burial 
were  granted  to  these  associations  to  hold  groundplots  guilds. 
for  the  interment  of  their  deceased  members.      On  them  (which 

were  beyond  the  city  walls)  a  building 
was  erected  for  the  celebration  of  the 
memorial  feasts,  and  still  others  for  the 
occupancy  of  the  persons  specially  charged 
with  the  care  of  the  cemeteries.  This 
space,  having  the  technical 
name  of  area,  usually  enclosed 
by  walls  and  often  embellished  with  stat- 
ues, flowers,  etc.,  was  a  spot  of  peculiar 
privacy  and  sacredness. 

On  the  Via  Appia  are  found  the  remains 
of  these  scholae  of  heathen  origin.    Fig.  70 
is  the  groundplan  of  such  a  one.'     It  was  a  building  of  square  form, 
with  three  semicircular  niches,  fronted  by  a  columned  portico. 
'  V.  Caniua :   Via  Appia,  Tav.  xx. 


The  area. 


Fig. 


70.— Heathen  schola,  Via  Appia, 
Rome. 


EAELY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


187 


One  represented  by  Fig.  71  is  likewise  on  the  Via  Appia.  Here 
are  six  niches,  and  the  tendency  is  to  the  circular  form.  This  por- 
tico is  lacking  in  columns.'  Some  whose 
outlines  closely  resemble  those  of  the  earli- 
est Christian  churches  have  also  been  exca- 
vated at  Pompeii.  Moreover,  the  testimony 
Testimony  of  of  the  inscriptions  is  full  and 
inscriptions,  explicit  respecting  these  struc- 
tures. Much  information  is  given  con- 
cerning their  legal  tenure,  the  donors  of 
the  grounds  and  of  the  buildings  erected 

thereon,  the  purposes  to  which  they  were  Fig.  71. -Heathen  schoia,  via  Ap- 
devoted,  the  character  of  the  feasts,  etc.  p'^I'  Rome. 

Structixres  of    like  form   and   used    for  like   purposes  have  also 

^    ,   been  discovered  in  connection  with  Christian  cemeteries 
Conne  c t e  d    _  _ 

with  Christian  in  various  parts  of  the  Empire.  Two  such  cellae,  meas- 
cemeteries.  uring  about  thirty  feet  on  each  side  of  the  square,  have 
been  found  in  the  open-air  portion  of  the  cata- 
comb of  San  Calisto  in  Rome^  (Fig.  V2);  also 
the  oratories  in  the  cemetery  of  San  Pretestate 
are  of  like  general  character. 

Many  suggestions  relative  to  the  forms  and 
arrangement  of  these  earlier  Christian  meeting- 
places  are  found  upon  the  sarcophagi,  in  the 
buildings  which  are  depicted  in  the  great  mo- 
saics of  Rome,  Ravenna,  and  Thessalonica,  and 
sometimes  in  objects  of  less  striking  character. 


Fig.  72.  —  Christian  schoia 
above  San  Calisto,  Rome. 


Fig.  73  represents  a 


Fig.  73.~Form  of  an  early  basUica,  a  bronze  Uimp  found  in  Africa. 

'Canina:    Op.  cit.,  t.  ix. 

^  De  Rossi :  Boma  Sotterranea,  iii,  p.  468.     Ritter  calls  them  "  the  first  early  Christ- 
ian chvirches  built  above  ground." 


188 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 


bronze  lamp  discovered  in  Africa.'  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  primitive 
basilica  or  schola.  Abuost  precisely  the  same  form  is  met  in  the 
great  mosaics  of  St.  George,  Thessalonica."  By  a  comparison  of  these 
with  the  plans  and  outlines  of  buildings  found  in  the  Capitoline 
fragments  and  at  Pomj^eii,  little  doubt  can  be  felt  relative  to  the 
resemblance  of  the  early  Christian  meeting-houses  to  the  scholae  and 
curiae  of  pagan  Rome.  By  a  comparison  of  Figs.  70  and  72  the 
likeness  of  the  heathen  burial  chapel  to  the  Christian  cella  will  be 
obvious.  That  like  principles  of  construction  and  arrangement  held 
in  each  must  be  manifest. 

The  cella  of  San  Sisto  at  Rome,  situated  in  the  midst  of  an  open 
Cella  of  San  air  Cemetery  (Fig.  74),  affords  a  good  illustration  of  the 
sisto.  form  of  these  burial  chapels,  and  of  their  relation  to  the 

places  of  sepulture  and  the  enclosed  area.     It  was  a  principle,  hold- 


Fig.  74.— Cella  and  arrangement  of  graves  above  San  Sisto,  Rome. 

ing  in  the  arrangement  of  the  cemeteries  controlled  by  the  burial 
clubs,  that  the  area  of  the  open-air  plot  should  exactly  correspond 
to  that  of  the  subterranean  space.  Great  care  was  observed  that  no 
society  should  intrude  upon  the  rights  of  another.  It  will  be  seen 
that  this  cella  terminates  in  a  semicircular  apse,  whose  upper  por- 
tion suggests  the  beginning  of  the  semidomical  or  conchoidal  style. 
It  also  shows  the  probable  location  of  the  altar,  and  the  space  for 
the  distribution  of  the  couches,  etc.,  in  the  celebration  of  the  burial 

^  de  Rossi :    Bullettino  di  Archeologia  cristiana,  1866. 
''Texier  et  Pullan:  Arch.  Byzantine,  pi.  xxx-xxxiv. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE. 


189 


feasts.  The  principle  of  the  cella,  oratory,  or  schola  finds  further 
illustration  in  the  room  discovered  in  1868  in  the  cemetery  of  Santa 
Generosa,  near  Rome  (Fig.  75).  The  apse  is  almost  santa  Gene- 
perfect.  In  the  extreme  rear  part  is  found  another  ™sa,. 
smaller  recess  or  apse  for  the  cathedra  of  the  bishop;  back  of  this 
is  a  window.  Further  excavations  behind  the  window  revealed  a 
cubiculum  on  whose  walls  were  frescos,  the  style  of  which  points 
to  the  seventh  century  as  the  time  of  their  origin. 


Basilica  in  Santa  Generosa,  Rome. 


Another  interesting  example  of  an  excavated  Christian  basilica, 
illustrating  the  same  structural  arrangement,  is  Santa  Petronilla, 
at  Rome,  Figs.  76  and  VV.  The  vestibule,  the  four  rows  of  col- 
umns, dividing  the  interior  space  into  five  naves,  the  terminal 
semicircular  apse,  are  clearly  preserved.  Moreover,  the  mural 
paintings,  of  a  style  not  inferior  to  the  best  contemporary  art, 
the  ornamentation  in  stucco,  crypts  of  great  extent,  not  hewn 
in  the  rock  as  elsewhere,  but  carefully  and  elegantly  constructed 
out  of  terra-cotta  and  building  stone,  with  pilasters  and  other 
architectural  details,  show  that  the  Church  was  not  opposed  to  art, 
nor  in  a  condition  of  extreme  poverty  and  persecution,  but  all  the 
reverse.  Also  a  large  number  of  inscriptions,  not  materially  differ- 
ent in  form  from  the  best  heathen  work,  whose  dates  in  some  cases 
reach  back  to  the  second  century,  further  confirm  this  view.'     De 


14 


*  Kraus:  Roma  Sotterranea,  ss.  87, 


190 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


Rossi'  has  shown  that  this  Petronilla  belonged  to  the  Flavian 
family,  and  lived  in  the  first  century.  The  groundplan  (Fig.  16) 
shows  the  complexity  of  the  structure. 


Fig.  76.— Groundplan  of  basilica  in  Santa  Petronilla,  Rome. 

De  Rossi*   reported  a  most    important  discovery   made    at   the 
entrance  of  the  most  ancient  catacomb  at  Rome,  Santa  Domitilla. 

'  V.  Bullettino  Arch,  crist,  1874,  1875. 
'  Bullettino  Cristiano,  1865. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE.  191 

The  use  of  the  interior  space  was  suggested  by  the  stone  bench 
which  runs  along  the  walls  ;  "  an  immense  triclinium  for  a  great 
number  of  guests;  in  fine,  a  schola  sodaliwn  very  like  ganta  Domi- 
to  those  of  the  pagan  brotherhoods  founded  for  burial  tma. 
purposes."  Somewhat  similar  triclinia  have  been  discovered  at 
Pompeii,  whose  internal  arrangements  bear  a  very  ^j^^  ^^  ^^^^ 
close  resemblance  to  this  anteroom  to  the  cemetery  peii. 
of  Santa  Domitilla. 

We  must  here  consider  the  structure  of  the  pagan  basilicas, 
and  determine  their  influence  upon  early  Christian  ar-  origin  of  the 
chitecture.  They  are  believed  to  have  been  derived  pagan  Roman 
immediately  from  the  Greeks,  but  had  been  brought  '^'  ^^' 
to  their  greatest  perfection  at  Rome  during  the  later  period  of  the 
republic,  and  the  reign  of  the  first  emperors.  The  resemblance  of 
the  Roman  basilica  to  the  Roman  forum  is  well  known.  Their 
uses,  also,  somewhat  corresponded. 

The  opinion  that  the  basilica  derived  its  form  from  the  forum 
lias  good  foundation.  Yitruvius  connects  the  basilicas  with  the 
m.arkets,  and  says  they  should  be  built  in  the  warmest  places  in 
order  that  the  traders  might  there  meet  in  winter.'  In  this  state- 
ment he  seems  to  mistake  the  object  of  these  buildings,  since  among 
the  Romans,  as  among  the  Greeks,  they  were  certainly  used  as  halls 
of  justice.*  So  far  as  can  be  known  the  first  basilica  was  built  at 
Rome,  B.  C.  184,  by  Marcus  Porcius  Cato,  from  whom  it  was 
named  the  Basilica  Porcia.  Seven  of  rare  magnificence  are  men- 
tioned during  the  republic. 

The  law  basilicas  of  Rome  were  oblong,  rectangular  buildings, 
"whose  length  was  usually  twice  their  breadth.  They  porm  of  the 
were  of  one,  three,  or  five  naves,  were  usually  without  ^^^  basilica, 
roof,  and  open  to  the  sky.  The  rectangular  space  was  inclosed 
'hj  a  wall.  This  has  been  questioned  by  some  writers^  An  enclosing 
who  believe  that  the  early  basilica  lacked  the  full  en-  ^^"• 
closing  wall.  This  opinion  is  chiefly  supported  by  the  remark  of 
Plutarch,  that  the  Roman  knights  and  armed  men  stormed  through 
the  Basilica  of  Paulus.  But  the  passage  can  be  easily  explained  by 
the  existence  of  numerous  doorways  or  openings  in  the  side  walls, 
while   the  positive   testimony  of  equally  trustworthy*  writers   in- 

'  I.  C. 

"  Hirt :  Die  GescMchie  der  Baukunst  bei  den  Alien,  1827,  Bd.  iii,  ss.  180,  181. 

^  V.  Schnaase :    Geschichte  d.  bildende  Kiinste. 

*  Vitruvius,  Quintilian,  and  Seneca  among  the  ancients.  Among  modern  writers 
«ee  Ottfried  Miiller,  Biinsen,  Zestermann,  and  Messmer.  The  excavations  make  it 
Crobable  that  the  Basilica  Julia  lacked  this  outer  bounding  wall. 


Fig.  77.— View  of  basilica  in  Santa  Petronllla,  Rome. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE. 


193 


The  apse. 


I 


duces  the  belief  that  the  Roman  law  basilicas  generally  had  the 
enclosing  wall. 

The  early  Roman  basilica  terminated  opposite  the  entrance  in  a 
semicircular  niche,  called  the  apse  or  tribune  (see  Fig. 
78).'  This  was  not  an  unusual  form  for  other  Roman 
buildings.  It  is  seen  in  the  baths  of  Titus  and  of  Diocletian,  while 
in  the  baths  of  Pompey 
the  long  hall  terminated 
in  a  clearly  defined  semi- 
circular niche,  which 
formed  a  half-domed  re- 
cess above.  A  like  ar- 
rangement is  noticed  in 
many  of  the  temples, 
where  the  semicircular 
niche  was  often  occupied 
by  a  pedestal,  on  which 
was  a  statue  of  the  god.* 
Vitruvius  distinctly  men- 
tions this  recess  or  apse 
as  connected  with  the 
Roman  basilicas,  and  his 
description  of  the  tribune 
leaves  no  doubt  as  to  its 
location  and  purpose. 
The  semicircular  termi- 
nation of  the  pagan  ba- 
silica' corresponded  to  its 
purpose,  and  to  its  deri- 
vation from  the  forum. 
The  latter  structure  has 
clearly  preserved  this  ar- 
rangement in  a  semicircu- 
lar portico  supported  by  columns.  To  the  same  result  would  point 
the  representation  of  the  Basilica  Ulpia,  found  on  the  Capitoline 
Fragments,  where  a  like  outline  of  the  tribune  is 
clearly  seen.  The  Basilica  of  Constantine  the  Great  and  of  con- 
also  contains  the  same  form.  The  latter  monument  is  stantine. 
of  great  value  for  the  determination  of  this  question,  since  its  loca- 

'  V.  Canina ;    Via  Appia,  t.  xxxii. 

"^  V.  Ottfr.  Miiller:  Archceologie  der  K^mst,  ss.  344—346. 

3  Contra,  v.  Zestermann  and  Kreuser :   '■  The  old  basilica  had  no  apse."     Kreuser : 
Christlichen  Kirchenhau,  s.  28. 


Fig.  78.— Plan  of  basilica  from  the  villa  of  Quintilian. 


194  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

tion,  the  time  of  its  erection,  and  itw  founder  are  well  known.  Its 
ruins  are  also  so  well  preserved  that  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  fair  ex- 
ample of  an  ancient  basilica,  and  one,  too,  which  probably  was  after- 
ward devoted  to  Christian  pm-poses.  Also  the  Basilica  of  Otricoli 
entirely  corresponds  to  this  form.  From  all  the  evidence  to  be 
gathered  from  baths,  halls,  curiae,  temples,  and  even  from  porticos, 
the  conclusion  may  be  safely  reached  that  the  semicircular  termi- 
nation was  a  peculiarity  of  this  style  of  Roman  archi- 

Conclusion.  tt-  •  i 

tecture.  History,  ancient  authors,  and  monuments 
unitedly  furnish  good  reason  for  concluding  that  the  public  basilicas 
of  the  Romans  often,  if  not  generally,  terminated  in  a  semicircular 
apse.' 

Upon  an  elevated  platform,  opposite  to  the  entrance,  the  high 
judge,  surrounded  by  his  assistants,  presided.  Below  and  on  eithei 
To  wbat  uses  side  were  the  judges  ;  in  front  were  the  witnesses  and 
devoted.  advocates,  while  the  remaining  space  of  the  apse  was 

for  the  use  of  the  people  who  gathered  to  hear  the  causes.  On  the 
rows  of  columns,  dividing  the  interior  into  three  or  five  naves,  rested 
either  entablatures  or  that  type  of  round  arch  seen  in  the  palace  of 
Diocletian  at  Spolatro,  on  the  coast  of  Dalmatia^  (Fig.  79).  Above, 
Constructive  ^  second  row  of  columns  supported  a  wall,  on  which 
elements.  rested  the  rafter-work  and  the  ceiling  supports.     Ac- 

cording to  Pausanius  the  ceiling  of  the  Basilica  Ulpia  was  bronzed. 
The  ceiling  of  the  temple  at  Ephesus  was  wrought  out  most  elabo- 
rately in  cedar,  while  the  interiors  of  some  of  the  public  buildings  of 
the  west  were  made  most  beautiful  and  impressive  by  the  rich 
carving  and  gilding  of  the  ceilings.  The  portico  was  quite  the 
ordinary  arrangement  in  the  more  pretentious  public  buildings  of 
Rome,  such  as  palaces,  temples,  and  basilicas,  and  in  some  private 
houses.^ 

The  Christian  basilica  of  the  fourth  century  was  evidently  the 
result  of  growth.  The  theory  which  attributes  its  immediate  origin 
Erroneous  to  the  toleration  of  Christianity  granted  by  Constan- 
theories.  tine  and  his  sons,  or  which  supposes  a  direct  and  slavish 

adoption  of  the  Roman  law  basilica,  or  claims  a  widespread  conver- 

'  Of  many  who  substantially  agree  with  this  view  may  be  cited  Oltfried  Miiller: 
Archoeologie  der  KuTist,  §  291.  Kugler:  Geschichte  der  Baukwnst,  1856,  Bd.  i,  ss.  280, 
281,  354.  Schnaase :  Geschichte  d.  hildenden  Kunste,  Bd.  ill,  ss.  44,  45.  Carriere: 
Die  Kunst  im  Zusammenhang  der  Culturentwickelung,  Bd.  iii,  s.  96. 

'  Schnaase :  Op.  ciL,  iii,  23,  24.  "  The  long  rows  of  columns  no  longer  support 
an  architrave,  but  arches;  the  wide  wall  surfaces  are  ornamented  with  rows  of 
round  windows,  or  niches,  between  lofty  columns  which  support  corbels."  Compare 
Molhes:  Die  Baukunst  des  Mittelalters,  Bd.  i,  ss.  12-24. 

'  V.  Ottfr.  Miiller :    Op.  cit.,  s.  384. 


196  ARCHAEOLOGY   OF    CHRISTIAN   ART. 

sion  of  the  heathen  law  basilicas  into  Christian  churches,  lacks 
historic  foundation.  The  main  elements  of  the  Christian  basilica 
had  been  well  known  from  the  first,  and  the  churches  which  are  met 
in  the  fourth  century  are  the  result  of  two  and  a  half  centuries 
of  growth  and  seemingly  unconscious  appropriation  to  its  wants 
of  whatever  was  useful. 

On  comparison  of  the  Roman  law  basilica  with  the  Christian 
General  re-  Church  of  the  same  period,  certain  general  resem- 
senibiances   of  jjlances  are  noticed,  ffivinar  rise  to  a  theory  of  its  origin 

Roman   and  '.=•  ®  -,  ^  ■ 

Christian  ba-  which  was  unquestioned  for  two  and  a  half  centuries, 
silicas.  and  is  still  embraced  by  a  large  class  of  waiters  on 

archteology.' 

There  is  no  earlier  notice  of  the  use  of  the  basilica  for  distinctively 
Earliest  no-  Christian  purposes  than  that  in  a  letter  written  to  Ma- 
•■i*^^^-  carius  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Emperor  Constantine,  whose 

attention  had  been  directed  to  the  peculiar  beauty  and  magnificence 
of  a  Christian  basilica  in  that  city.  The  theory  that  the  name 
PaotXiK'q  was  derived  from  the  Emperor  Constantine,  fiaatXevg,  is 
untenable.  The  letter  of  Constantine  would  show  that  the  peculiar 
class  of  buildings  to  which  he  refers  was  well  known  to  Macarius 
himself,  hence  must  have  been  widely  diffused  at  the  time.*  More- 
over, the  statement  of  Optatus  regarding  the  forty  basilicas  at  Rome 
at  the  time  of  Diocletian  strengthens  this  opinion.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  no  attempt  to  trace  the  derivation  of  the  word  is  met  before 
the  seventh  century.  When  Isodorus  Hispanus  says,  "  Formerly  ba- 
silicas were  called  dwelling  places  of  kings,  hence  the  name,  since 
(iaaiXevg  is  a  king  and  basilicas  are  royal  habitations;  but  now  di- 
vine temples  are  named  basilicas  because  therein  are  offered  service 
and  sacrifice  to  God,  the  King  of  all,"  we  may  find  a  useful  sugges- 
tion to  the  later  Christians,  but  it  scarcely  affords  a  satisfactory 
explanation  of  the  origin  of  a  name  which  had  characterized  a 
whole  class  of  structures  from  the  fourth  century.  That  the 
same  name  was  attached  to  the  heathen  building  and  to  the  Christ- 
ian is  probably  owing  to  their  partial  resemblance  and  likeness  of 
arrangement.* 

^v.  J.  Richtcr:  Cliristliche  Architecture  u.  Plastik  in  Rom  vor  Ootistantine  dem 
Grossen.  "  Notwithstanding  the  most  thorough  investigations  it  cannot  be  posi- 
tively denied  that  the  Cliristian  basilica  was  derived  from  the  pagan  hall  of  justice." 

"  "We  cannot,  with  Konrad  Lange,  JIaus  und  Halle,  s.  .324,  understand  this  to  re- 
fer to  the  then  existing  basilicas  which  were  used  as  halls  of  exchange,  or  to  some 
modifications  of  these  to  adapt  them  to  the  purposes  of  Christian  worship,  but  to 
churches  wliich  had  previously  existed. 

^  Mossmer :  Ueber  den  Ursjwung,  die  Entiuickelung,  und  Bedeutung  der  Basilika  in  der 
christlichen  Baukunst,  Leipzig,  1854,  ss.  15,  16. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  197 

The  naved  and  columned  church  resembled  the  heathen  basil- 
ica in  being  an  oblonsj  rectangular  structure,  whose  in- 

RiPSGinbliinop 

terior  was  divided  into  three  or  five  naves  by  two  or  to  pagan  ba- 
four  rows  of  columns  extending  throughout  its  length.  ^^^^°^- 
In  some  of  the  older  churches  these  columns  were  taken  directly 
from  heathen  monuments,  thus  introducing  into  the  composition  an 
element  of  strange  incohgruousness.'  The  columned  arrangement 
would  be  as  readily  suggested  by  the  banqueting  hall  of  the  more 
wealthy  Romans  as  by  the  law  basilicas  themselves.  In  this  case 
the  result  would  be  a  three-naved  building,  which  was  the  more 
usual  form. 

The  Christian  Church  was  a  body  of  believers,  an  organism,  in 
which  the  dependence  of  each  part  on  every  other  was  ^j^^  christian 
so  vital  that  "  whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the  mem-  church  an  or- 
bers  suffer  with  it"  (1  Cor.  xii,  26).  In  it  there  must  ^^^i^"^- 
be  chosen  men  to  minister  in  holy  things.  The  sacerdotal  character 
of  this  ministry  had  already  been  recognized.  The  Church  of  the 
fourth  century,  therefore,  required  a  place  of  assembly,  and  a  high 
altar  where  the  sacrifice  of  the  holy  eucharist  could  be  made,  and 
whence  the  divine  will  and  purpose  could  be  declared.  In  the  Con- 
stantinian  churches,  the  thought  of  the  worshipper  was  directed 
toward  the  spot  where  communication  was  believed  to  be  established 
between  the  invisible,  eternal,  all-wise  God  and  the  body  of  believ- 
ers, through  the  ministrations  of  the  priesthood.  In  the  Christian 
basilica  this  spot  was  the  semicircular  niche  opposite  the  entrance, 
where  stood  the  high  altar  with  its  accompanying  furniture,  and 
where  the  bishop  and  his  attendants  conducted  the  imposing  cere- 
monial.    In  Christian  literature  this  niche  is  called  the 

mi        .  •       i-  1     •  1  1        The  apse    the 

apse.       1  he   term    is    round   in   common    use    by   the  unifying  mem- 
early  Christian  writers,  and  always  in  the  same  sense."   *'^''- 
The  name  was  evidently  of  Roman  origin,  and  is  important  in  the 
study  of  the  development  of  Christian  architecture. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  law  basilica  likewise  termi- 
nated in  an  apse.  But  the  principles  governing  the  two  Different  prin- 
structures  are  entirely  different.     While  business  of  di-   '^'P'*'^    govern 

,  ^  •    1  >    1        ,  ,     T    •  •  ,       in  the  heathen 

verse    character  might   be  transacted  m  various  parts   and   christian 
of  the  heathen    basilica,  in    the  Christian  church  the  basilica. 

'Sehnaase:  Op.  cit,  Bd.  iii,  s.  48.  "The  columns  taken  from  buildings  of  the 
pagan  period  are  very  seldom  entirely  alike,  but  often  of  differeut  materials  and 
various  dimensions.  In  order  to  have  the  height  of  the  capitals  equal,  the  columns 
which  are  too  high  are  shortened  or  sunk  into  the  earth ;  such  as  are  too  short  are 
placed  upon  a  higher  base." 

^  For  numerous  authorities  confirmatory  of  this  statement  see  especially  Kreuser: 
ChristUche  Kirchenbau,  ss.  84-87. 


198 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


interest  of  the  entire  assembly  was  one  and  common.  In  the  heathen 
basilica,  therefore,  the  apse  assumed  no  such  importance  as  in  the 
Christian  church.  This  is  manifest  from  the  difference  in  the  col- 
umnar structure.  In  the  heathen  basilica  the  columns  were  extended 
across  the  side  opposite  to  the  main  entrance,  making  the  colonnade 
continous  on  the  ground  floor  and  in  the  galleries,  thereby  obscuring 
the  view  of  the  apse;  in  the  Christian  basilica,  on  the  contrary,  the 
columnar  arrangement  is  absent  from  the  apsidal  termination,  its 
place  being  often  supplied  by  the  triumphal  arch  (v.  Fig.  82).  Thus 
was  secured  an  uninterrupted  view  of  the  apse,  which  was  the  center 
of  all  religious  interest,  toward  which  all  lines  of  the  building  con- 
verged and  the  thought  of  all  worshippers  was  directed.  Here  was 
the  throne  of  the  bishop,  who  was  supported  on  either  side  by  his, 
presbyters,  while  near  at  hand  were  the  deacons  ready  for  service. 
Facing  the  east  the  bishop  ofticiated  at  the  altar  in  front  of  his 
chair,  while  the  attention  of  the  entire  congregation  was  concen- 
trated on  this  point  of  supreme  interest,  without  architectural  hin- 
drance. For  this  reason  a  class  of  writers  have  found  the  origin 
The  apse  sug-  ^^  ^^^®  H^^^  ^^^  ^^^6  cella  of  the  burial  chapels.'  But  it 
gested  by  the  would  seem  to  have  an  earlier  suggestion  in  the  tab- 
linum  of  the  private  house,  where  the  householder 
was  wont  to  preside,  and  where,  without  doubt,  Avas  the  seat 
of  the  ofliciating  bishop  during  the  period  when  Christ- 
ian worship  retained  its  household  character.  The  fact 
that  in  a  few  structures  the  rectangu- 
lar form  of  the  apse,  especially  in  its 
exterior  outline,  is  still  retained  would 
seem  to  further  strengthen  this  opin- 
ion.^ This  is  seen  in  the  basilica  pre- 
served in  the  ruins  of  the  villa  of 
Hadrian,  at  Tivoli  (Fig.  80),  whose 
apse  is  rectangular  with  a  breadth  of  more  than 
sixteen  feet.  Another  room  connected  Avith  this 
villa  is  single-naved  and  terminates  in  a  semicir- 
cular apse  (Fig.  81). 

In  tlie  heathen  basilica  the  second  story  was 
usually  a  place  of  promenade  from  which  the  visitor  gained  a  view 
of  the  business  transacted  on  the  ground  floor.  The  columnar 
arrangement  corresponded  to  that  of  the  first  floor.  This  is  seen 
in  the  Basilica  Sessoriana  (Fig.  88),  and  in  the  palace  of  Diocletian 

'See  the  able  article  "  Basilika  "  by  Kraus  in  the  Real- EnnjklopMie  der  christlichen 
Alierthjimer,  pp.  118-120. 

*«.  Dehio:  Die  kirchUche  Baukunst,  Ite  Lief.,  s.  336. 


Fig.  80.— Ba- 
silica from  villa 
of  Hadrian, 
Tivoli. 


Fig.  81.— Basilica  from 
villa  of  Hadrian,  Tivoli. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  199 

(Fig.  79),  and  seems  to  have  been  preserved  in  a  few  oblong 
Christian  basilicas,  as  in  the  five-naved  church  St.  Demetrius  at 
Thessalonica  (y.  Fig.  100).  But  this  was  not  the  law  governing 
the  second  story  of  the  Christian  church.  Instead  of  a  gallery 
for  the  free  intercourse  of  visitors,  or  for  promenade,  as  in 
the  law  basilicas,  in  the  Christian  churches  above  the  first  row 
of  columns  was  usually  a  continuous  wall  whose  upper  part  was 
pierced  with  windows  for  lighting  the  interior.  By  this  con- 
struction opportunity  was  afforded  for  more  extended  decora- 
tion, as  is  noticed  in  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  San  Apollinare  in 
Classe,  and  other  churches  of  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  centuries. 
It  hardly  seems  credible  that  so  important  a  modifica-  This     radical 

tion  could  have  occurred   suddenly  on  the   transition   ^^^^rence  not 

''  suddenly  real- 

of  the  Church  from  a  condition  of  persecution  to  that  ized. 

of    toleration.      Rather,    may   not   this    wall   expanse    be    but    a 

slight  modification  of  the  essential  features  of  the  atrium  disphmia- 

turn  (Fig.  68),  where  the  walls  of  the  lower  portions  are  changed  to 

columns,  while  the  upper  portions  are  preserved  as  wall  expanses  ? 

Also  the  arrangement  of  the  roof  of   the   three   and  five   naved 

churches  seems  to  be  derived  from  the  jDrivate  house  and  the  private 

basilica,  rather  than  from  the  perfected  law  basilicas  of  Rome. 

Moreover,  the  construction  of  the  ceiling  in  the  two  classes  of  build- 
ings was  at  times  widely  different.  The  heathen  basilica 
very  uniformly  preserves  a  symmetrical  division  of  the  in  ceiling  con- 
space  into  squares,  with  rosette  ornaments.  The  ceiling  stmction. 
of  the  main  nave  of  the  early  Christian  church,  while  sometimes 
adhering  to  this  classical  tyjje,'  more  frequently  consisted  of  open 
rafter-work  and  beams  ornamented  with  gilt,  bronze,  and  colors,  to 
inspire  the  feeling  of  hope  and  aspiration  *  (San  Pietro  in  Vaticano, 
see  Fig.  92),  or  were  of  the  cylindrically  vaulted  type,  as  in  the 
churches  of  Egypt  and  Syria. 

We  therefore  regard  the  oblong  Christian  basilica  as  a  growth 
from  elements  with  which  the  Church  had  been  familiar  during 
the  first  two  and  one  half  centuries  of  its  varied  history.  The 
ordinary  private  dwelling-house,  the  triclinia  of  the 
more  elegant  houses  of  the  nobler  families  that  had  em- 
braced Christianity,  the  lodge-rooms,  the  cellte  of  the  burial  chap- 
els, and  the  imposing  interior  arrangement  of  colonnades  in  the  hea- 
then law  basilicas,  are  the  sources  whence  are  derived  the  germs 
which,  under  the  fostering  and  inspiring  spirit  of  the  new  religion 

'  In  Santa  Maria  Maggiore  at  Rome  tlie  ceiling  is  of  later  origin. 
^  Old  San  Pietro  was  a  fine  example  of  this  open  rafter-work.     v.  Schnaase :  Op. 
cit.,  Bd.  iii,  ss.  48,  49. 


200  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

during  periods  of  toleration  and  peace,  were  developed  into  a 
distinctively  Christian  architecture,  whose  chief  characteristics 
continued  for  a  thousand  j^ears.' 

2.    The  Parts  of  the  Basilica. 
The  adaptation  of  the  basilica  to  Chi'istian  needs  will  appear 
from  a  more  full  description  of  its  parts,  and  of  the  particular  uses 
to  which  they  were  devoted. 

The  unifying  power  of  the  apse  has  already  been  noticed.     The 

tendency  of  all  lines  of  the  building  toward  the  semicircular  niche 

was  indicative  of  the  concentration  of  attention  on  this  focal  point 

of  interest  to  the  worshipers.     So,  also,  the  transformations  which 

we  have  already  noticed  show  the  supreme  importance 

The    moulding  .,  . 

power  of  Chris-  of  the  tribune  and  of  its  attendant  parts.  As  the  new 
tiamty.  wine  of  the  Gospel  could  not  be  contained  in  the  old 

bottles  of  Roman  thought  and  life,  so  the  Christian  spirit  was  not 
content  to  simply  enter  into  existing  structures  and  use  them  for 
worship,  but  by  its  superior  power  it  moulded  these  heathen  elements 
into  forms  essentially  new.  The  symbolic  character  of  much  of  the 
ritual  demanded  fit  means  for  its  embodiment.  From  a  general 
adaptation  the  basilica  was  adjusted  in  all  its  details  to  the  needs 
of  the  church. 

The  simple  semicircular  recess  of  the  pagan  basilica  was,  in  the 
The  furniture  Christian,  elevated  and  covered  by  the  conchoidal  or 
of  the  apse.  vaulted  roof;  the  altar  was  protected  by  a  baldachin, 
supported  by  four  columns,  from  whose  under  side,  in  the  form  of 
a  dove  descending  upon  the  altar,  hung  the  vessel  containing  the 
eucharistic  elements.  Somewhat  further  toward  the  middle  nave  a 
space  was  cut  oif  from  the  rest  of  the  building  by  railing  for  the 
use  of  the  lesser  clergy  and  the  singers.*  On  the  north  side  of  this 
space  stood  the  lectoriuni  (ambo),  or  reading-desk,  for 
the  gospel;  on  the  south  side,  that  for  the  epistle.^  The 
apse  and  the  triumphal  arch  were  highly  decorated;  the  pavement 
was  wrought  out  in  marble  mosaic;  the  rafter  work  of  the  ceiling 

'  The  conclusion  reached  by  Konrad  Lange,  Haus  und  Halle,  s.  323,  "  that  the 
Lange's  opin-  Edict  of  Milan  is  the  determinate  event  for  the  introduction  of  the 
ion.  basilica  form  in  place  of  the  single-naved  church  wliich  had  before  pre- 

vailed, and  that  the  year  313  (and,  in  a  broader  sense,  the  year  323)  is  the  birth-year 
of  the  Christian  basilica,  whose  introduction  is  the  monvimental  expression  of  tlie 
elevation  of  Christianity  to  be  the  religion  of  the  state,"  seems  to  us  untenable. 
It  disregards  tlie  great  law  of  historic  development,  and  does  not  accord  with  the 
monumental  and  literary  evidence. 

"^  To  aid  in  gaining  a  clearer  conception,  consult  Figs.  82  and  83. 

'  See  Plate  IF'. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


203 


added  picturesqueness  to  the  interior  space  [v.  Fig.  82).  Fol- 
lowing outward  from  the  altar,  the  main  nave  was  entered,  at 
whose  farther  end  doors  led  to  the  vestibule  or  entrance  portico. 
In  the  earlier  form,  this  vestibule  was  an  open  space 
bounded  by  rows  of  columns,  in  whose  center  stood 
the  fountain  (cantharus)  for  the  purification  of  the  entering  wor^ 


The  vestibule. 


Fig.  83.— Interior  of  San  Clemente,  Rome. 

shippers  [v.  Fig.  83).  In  later  structures  this  open  space  was  covered, 
and  became  an  appropriate  spot  for  meditation  and  penitence,  or 
was  more  thoroughly  incorporated  into  the  main  structure,  as  in 
San  Lorenzo  {v.  Fig.  94).  The  vestibule  was  always  present  in  the 
eastern  churches  ;  in  some  of  the  western  it  was  lacking.  From 
this  circumstance  some  writers  have  believed  that  in  the  portico 
were  foimd  traces  of  the  Jewish  spirit  and  influence. 

While  a  careful  comparison  of  the  Roman  with  the  early  Christ- 
ian basilica  reveals  a  general  resemblance,  there  is  an  almost  total 


204 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


want  of  likeness  in  the  details,  and  in  individual  members  of  the 
buildings.  In  outline  each  old  Roman  basilica  had  a  Contrast  be- 
marked   individuality;   the  oblonar  Christian  basilicas,   "^^^en  the  pa- 

.       ''  .  °  '    gan  and  Chnst- 

however,  with  wide  liberty  respecting  minute  details,   ian  basilica. 

have  a  stereotyped  plan  which  controls  the  entire  development.'  So 
in  the  Christian  basilica,  the  form,  the  gar- 
ment, were  Roman;  but  the  dedication  of 
the  building  to  a  distinct  purpose,  by  making 
the  sanctuary  the  central  and  controlling 
thought  of  the  entire  structure,  caused  it 
to  lay  aside  the  old  and  assume  a  new  and 
distinctive  character.  The  whole  building 
now  had  a  richer  significance.  From  a  tribu- 
nal of  justice  and  place  of  business  it  became 
the  house  of  the  King  of  kings,  the  Victor 
over  the  world  and  the  grave.  This  com- 
pletes the  transformation  of  the  tjj^  complete 
Roman  into  the  Christian  basili-   transformation. 

■HMqpMHk,  jmmfmmmm^  ^^-  ^ow  for  the  first  time  the  earlier  expla- 
IX  XX AAA  aI  ^i^tions  of  its  meaning  seem  appropriate.  It 
J-  4(  V  V  Y  V  It  Mh  jg  now,  indeed,  the  dwelling-place  of  the 
one  eternal  King — the  only  wise  Lord  God 
Almighty.  The  tribunal  of  the  imperial 
praetor  has  lost  its  significance;  it  has  now 
been  transformed  into  the  seat  of  concord 
and  unity,  where  Christ,  the  Mediator,  in- 
sures the  truest  and  highest  peace  between 
God  and  man.^ 

In  the   earlier  and   smaller  basilicas  the 
T.-    oo    ^        ,  ,       .  „      southern  nave   was   usually   set   The  separation 

Fig.  83.— Groundplan  of  San  "^  iuesep.iid.Liou 

ciemente,  Rome.  Vestibule  and  apart  for  the  men,  the  northern   of  the  sexes, 
cantharus  In  front.  £qj.  ^^iq  women  ;  in  such  cases   the  middle 

nave  was  occupied  by  the  clergy  for  the  responsive  and  choral 
service.  In  the  more  spacious  and  elegant  basilicas  this  arrange- 
ment  was  no  longer  necessary,  since  the  tribune  itself  was  of  sufii- 
cient  capacity  to  accommodate  all  the  ofticiary.  In  the  western 
church  the  separation  of  the  sexes  gradually  fell  into  disuse,  but 
continued  in  the  East. 

The  middle  nave  with  its  independent  and  loftier  roof -construc- 
tion, and  the  side  naves  with  their  lower  ceilings  and   Theprincipieof 
dependent  roof,  constitute  a  harmonious  balancing  of  balancing  parts. 
the  parts.     The  side  naves  become  the  complementary  numbers  of 
*  Stockbauer:  Der  christliche  Kirchenbau,  s.  4.  *  Messmer:   Op.  cit,  p.  61. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE.  205 

the  main  nave  right  and  left,   as  do  the  apse  and  the  entrance 
portico  in  the  direction  of  the  length. 

The  early  Christian  basilica  impresses  by  its  chaste  yet  noble 
simplicity  ;  in  it  the  student  of  delicate  art  sensibilitj^  may  discover 
the  germs  of  that  richer  and  fuller  development  which  was  after- 
ward realized  in  the  Gothic  cathedral.  Here  is  seen  The  problem 
the  solution  of  the  most  important  problem  of  sacred  ar-  solved, 
ohitecture;  namely,  to  develop  the  form  through  the  influence  of  the 
religion  whose  rites  were  therein  to  be  celebrated ;  in  other  words,  to 
effect  a  harmony  between  the  containing  material  and  the  contained 
and  inspiring  spirit.^  This  significant  victory  was  achieved  by  the 
Christian  religion.  Herein  is  noticed  the  difference  between  the 
Greek  and  the  Christian  idea  of  architecture.^  The  spir-  ^^^^  christian 
itual  significance  of  the  interior  of  the  Christian  basilica  vg.  the  Greek 
is  in  strong  contrast  with  the  imposing  grandeur  of  the  ^^^^^' 
exterior  of  the  Greek  temple.  Subjective  truth  and  beauty  are  here 
shown  to  be  of  more  worth  than  material  splendor.  Instead  of 
passing  from  a  perfect  exterior  to  an  unmeaning  interior,  the  basilica 
obeys  the  law  of  all  true  development  and  growth  in  first  invigo- 
rating and  purifying  the  subjective  spirit,  and  then,  by  virtue  of  the 
transforming  power  of  truth,  subordinating  to  this  the  exterior  form. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected,  therefore,  that  the  somewhat  conglom- 
erate character  of  the  earliest  Christian  basilica  would  remain  un- 
changed. By  degrees  the  heterogeneous  elements  disappeared,  and 
from  the  original  form  was  developed  a  new  type  of  Christian 
architecture. 

The  most  important  departure  from  the  fundamental  form  re- 
sulted from  the  introduction  of  the  transept.  The  xhe  later  de- 
monotony  caused  by  the  long  extent  of  unbroken  space  veiopment. 
in  the  naves  was  relieved  by  opposing  to  it  the  transept  of  equal 
height  and  breadth  of  the  middle  nave.  This  would  furnish  an 
appropriate  termination  to  the  longitudinal  extension,  and  give  to 

the  sanctuarium  still  greater  dignity  and  impressiveness, 

mi  1  /.I  1  •  1  1        p     1  The  transept. 

ihe  enlargement  oi  the  transept  to  the  width  oi  the 

entire  church  soon  followed.     At  length  the  walls  of  the  cross  nave 

were  projected  beyond  those  of  the  main  structure,  giving  to  the 

foundation  the  form  of  the  Latin  cross.^    The  transept  thus  became 

'  Messmer:    Op.  cit,  p.  63. 

^  "  At  all  times  the  ruling  idea  in  architectural  art  has  been  essentially  determined 
by  the  prevailing  position  of  religion  in  the  general  spiritual  life  of  a  people."' 
V.  Dehio:  Die  kirchliche  Baukunst  des  Abendlandes,  s.  15. 

^  This  is  seen  in  the  noted  Basilica  of  St.  Paul,  and  also  in  that  of  St.  Peter's,  at 
Rome.     V.  Fig.  92. 
15 


206  ARCHEOLOGY  OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

an  intermediate  member  between  the  apse  and  the  middle  nave, 
and  connected  the  sanctuariuni  with  tlie  space  occupied  by  the 
body  of  worshippers.  At  the  place  of  intersection  of  the  transept 
The  triumphal  and  main  nave,  a  lofty  arch,  reaching  from  one  wall  to 
arch.  the  other,  spanned  the  intermediate  space  (see  Fig.  81). 

This  so  called  triumphal  arch  rested  upon  two  columns  at  the 
terminus  of  the  middle  nave,  and  constituted  a  most  important 
feature  of  the  later  and  more  elaborate  basilicas.  The  spaces 
on  the  ceilings  were  generally  ornamented  with  forms  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles,  of  saints  and  of  angels  wrought  out  in  painting  or 
rich  mosaics,  while  imposing  pictures  of  Christ  usually  filled  the 
altar  niche.'  At  a  still  later  period  the  naves  were  intersected  by 
two  or  more  transepts.  By  this  means  two  or  more  triumphal 
arches  resulted,  and  an  increased  wall  and  ceiling  surface  was 
secured  for  more  elaborate  ornamentation.  The  wide  departure 
from  the  simplicity  of  the  early  Christian  basilica  during  the  later 
mediaeval  period  resulted  in  serious  architectural  decadence. 


3.    The  Influence  of  the   Ghristian  Basilica  on  Other  Forms  of  Christian 

Architecture. 

The  parts  of  the  basilica  were  brought  into  still  more  harmo- 
nious relations  by  means  of  the  vaulted  roof,  while  the  whole 
was  unified  in  idea  by  the  sanctuarium.  This  marks  the  further 
transition  from  the  earlier  form  of  the  Christian  basilica  to  the 
round-vaulted  or  Roman  style  of  church  architecture.  The  devel- 
opment of  the  basilica  did  not  at  first  admit  of  the  round-arched 
The   provision  vaulting,  but  of  that  which  resulted  from  the  intersection 

for     pressure     £  ^j^     main  nave  with  the  transept.     The  thrust  or 

upon  the  outer  ^ 

walls.  pressure  upon  the  lateral  walls  was  too  great  to   allow 

of  a  cylindrical  vaulting  over  the  middle  nave,  except  where  these 
walls  were  of  unusual  thickness,  whereas  the  arches  resting  upon  the 
terminal  columns  of  the  middle  nave,  and  extending  diagonally  to 
like  columns  or  pilasters  at  the  boundary  of  the  apse,  would  dis- 
tribute one  half  of  the  pressure  from  the  imposed  mass  in  the 
direction  of  the  line  of  the  wall  {v.  Fig.  84).*  Thus  the  support 
of  the  triumphal  arch  would  be  secured  without  unduly  increasing 
the  thickness  of  the  enclosing  wall. 

The  intersection  of  the  vaulted  roof  of  the  main  nave  with 
that  of  the  transept  necessarily  so  divided  the  space  as  to  compel 
the  use  of  the  cross  vaulting  rather  than  the  cylindrical.     A  like 

'  V.  Schnaase,  Kugler,  Quast,  and  others  on  this  transformation. 
^  Messmer:    Op.  cit,  pp.  11,  78. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE. 


207 


necessity  to  distribute  the  thrust  of  the  supported  roof  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  series  of  cokimns  led  to  the  construction  of  diagonal 
ribbed  arches,  and  the  consequent  transformation  of  the  pirst  germs  of 
cylindrically  vaulted  ceiling  into  a  series  of  cross-vaulted  ^^^  Gothic. 
spaces,  which  mark  the  first  stages  in  the  development  of  Gothic 
architecture.^ 


FlR.  84.— Sbowing  the  development  of  the  cross-rlhhed  arches,  and  distribution  of  the  pressure. 

Thus  by  successive  changes  and  transformations  the  contradic- 
tions and  incongruities  of  the  early  Christian  basilica  were  removed, 
the  various  parts  were  brought  more  and  more  into  harmony,  until 
the  richei',  more  complete,  and  glorious  Gothic  style  was  the  final 
outcome  of  all  the  struggle  of  the  preceding  centuries. 

In  the  simple  basilica  were  contained  those  germs  which,  under 
the  quickening  influence  of  the  Christian  religion,  developed  into 
the  style  of  architecture  which  may  be  called  preeminently  Christ- 
ian, in  which  every  minutest  pai't  equally  with  every  Tbe  unifying 
necessary  member  finds  its  truest  significance  in  being  spirit. 
included  in  a  richer  and  more  complete  organism.  This  is  in  exact 
accordance  with  the  philosophy  of  the  spiritual  edifice  "built  upon 

'  Rudolph  "Wiegmami :  Ueber  den  Urspitng  des  SpifzbogenstUs,  s.  28.  A  careful  com- 
parison of  Fi,2:s.  84  and  86  with  Figs.  91  and  95  will  help  to  an  adequate  conception 
of  the  process  of  transformation  from  the  early  Christian  basiUca  to  the  Gothic 
cathedral. 


208  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself 
being  the  chief  cornerstone  ;  in  whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed 
together  groweth  unto  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord  :  in  whom  ye 
also  are  builded  together  for  an  habitation  of  God  through  the 
Spirit"  (Eph.  ii,  20-22)  ;  or  of  the  bodily  organism  which  sug- 
gested the  other  :  "  For  as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  many  mem- 
bers, and  all  the  members  of  that  one  body,  being  many,  are  one 
body:  so  also  is  Christ.  For  by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized 
into  one  body,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  whether  we  be 
bond  or  free  ;  and  have  been  all  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit. 
1  Cor.  12,  13. 

What  the  ancient  basilica  contained  in  itself  as  a  possibility  the 
Gothic  cathedral  realized  in  its  rich  efflorescence  and  crowning  unity. 
This  interior  unity  first  appeared  in  the  pointed  arch,  and  in  the 
architectural  style  which  it  originated.  In  the  pointed  style  the 
basilica,  which  was  the  normal  type  of  Christian  architecture,  was 
developed  into  the  greatest  beauty,  the  richest  variety,  yet  the 
purest  simplicity.  The  essential  features  of  the  original  groundplan 
and  outline  were  retained  and  brought  to  their  highest  possibilities. 
The  longitudinal  extension,  and  the  tendency  of  the  whole  interior 
toward  the  sanctuarium,  were  not  changed,  but  rather  found  in  the 
polygonal  termination  of  the  choir  of  the  Gothic  cathedral  their 
structural  unification  and  goal.  The  simple  apse  was  transformed 
into  the  unifying  choir;  the  vestibule  was  closely  and  constructively 
joined  to  the  main  and  side  naves,  and  as  the  supporting  member  of 
the  towers  it  became  the  real  entrance  to  the  sanctuary,  the  point 
of  transition  from  secular  thought  to  genuine  worship.  Thus,  in 
no  way  had  the  original  portico  been  dispensed  with,  but  by  its 
completeness  of  development  it  became  a  constituent  part  of  the 
structural  whole.  The  threefold  western  entrance  into  the  basilica 
was  thus  transformed  into  those  enchanting  portals  which,  by 
Furtner  trans-  their  deep  oblique  recesses  and  glorious  crowning  of 
formation.  gables,  SO  greatly  contributed  to  the  majesty  of  the 
mediaeval  cathedral.  The  supporting  and  enclosing  walls  no  longer 
constituted  the  essential  mass  of  the  structure,  as  in  the  original 
basilica.  The  wall  is  no  longer  continuous;  the  parts  are  bound 
together  by  opposing  buttresses;  while  all  is  spiritualized  and 
transfigured  by  the  lofty  painted  windows  in  the  main  and  side 
naves.'  The  columns,  as  well  as  the  intervening  pilasters,  have 
now  a  deeper  significance.  The  germinal  form  was  circular. 
These,  however,  by  the  necessities  of  connecting  the  main  and 
Bide  naves,  and  of  supporting  the  vaulted  roof,  were  developed 
'  Messmer :    Op.  cit,  p.  85. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  209 

into  polygonal  or  clustered  forms  (Fig.  85).  On  these  rest  the 
slender  ribs  that  connect  the  ceiling  with  the  wall.  With  this  final 
connection  of  all  parts  of  the  ceiling  structure  by  means  of  the  ribs 
with  pointed  arch,  was  completed  the  inte- 
rior unification,  just  as  in  the  ancient  gable- 
roof  of  the  basilica  was  found  the  external 
completion  of  that  building  [v.  Fig.  86). 
What  at  the  beginning  was  only  an  archi- 
tectural germ  was  thus  developed  into  a  rich, 
beautiful,  and  unified  style.  In  this  respect, 
therefore,  is  the  basilica  entitled  to  be  called 
a  Christian  form,  emphatically  the  Christian 

1  •  -,     1  1  /•Till  Fig.  85.— A  clusiert'd  column. 

temple,    smce    it   has    been    unfolded  by   a 

living    Christian  principle    to  meet  the  wants  of  the   How  far  was 

Church  in  the  celebration  of  its  perfected  worship.     Just   ^^^    christian 
1         •     T         1  •  1        (.   A-ii    •     •      •  T-.      .  basilica  a  crea- 

herem  lies  the  triumph  of  Christianity.     By  interpene-  tion? 

trating  indifferent  foreign  forms  with  its  own  spirit  it  developed  a 

style  of  such  perfect  artistic  harmonies  that  further  improvement 

may  well  be  despaired  of.    In  this  respect  can  Christian  architecture 

be  justly >  called  original. 

4.   Some  of  the  Earliest   Christian   Churches. 

Unfortunately,  not  a  single  early  Christian  basilica  has  been  pre- 
served ill  its  integrity.  Numerous  additions  and  transformations, 
which  the  misdirected  zeal  of  princes  and  popes  effected,  have,  in 
many  instances,  entirely  destroyed  the  original  features  ^^^  remains 
of  these  churches.  Their  reconstruction  from  the  few  of  pre-Constan- 
remaining  portions,  from  the  meagre  notices  of  early  '"^^  churches. 
Christian  writers,  and  from  comparative  studies,  is  a  work  of  extreme 
difficulty.  Even  the  remains  of  these  early  basilicas  are  few  and 
questionable.  Some  fell  into  decay,  others  were  destroyed  by  the 
enemies  of  Christianity,'  while  still  others  were  superseded  by  more 
imposing  edifices  during  the  reigns  of  Constantine  and  his  suc- 
cessors. 

Ciampini '  has  given  a  very  full  description  of  the  Basilica  Sicin- 
iana  as  it  remained  in  the  seventeenth  century.  This  was  probably 
the  most  perfect  example  of  a  heathen  basilica  transformed  into  a 
Christian  church  '  whose  description  has  been  preserved.  From 
Ciampini's  drawings  *  a  good  knowledge  of  the  original  form  and 
decorations  can  be  gained.     The  plans  show  an  oblong,  rectangular 

'  Especially  during  the  Decian  and  Diocletian  persecutions. 

2  Vetera  Monimenta,  Pars  i,  pp.  9,  10. 

3  Probably  San  Andrea  in  Barbara.  ■•  Tab.  xxi-xxv. 


210 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


structure  with  a  portico  and  broad  apse,  without  interior  columnar 
division;  hence  a  single-naved  basilica.'  Its  walls  were  adorned 
with  mosaics  and  paintings  which  commemorated,  as  many  believe, 
the  triumph  of  Anthony.  These  mural  decorations  preclude  the 
supposition  that  it  was  originally  used  for  Christian  purposes;  but 


Fig.  86.— A  Gothic  Interior.    To  show  the  unlflcation  of  the  supporting  and  supported  members. 

they  plainly  point  to  a  Roman  monument.  It  is  believed  to  have 
been  built  by  Junius  Bassus,  A.  D.  3 1*7.*^  The  mosaics  of  the  apse 
were  introduced  after  its  dedication  as  a  Christian  church.  A.  D. 
470. 

'  de  Vogiie:   Syrie  Centrale,  plate   67,   gives  the  groundplan   of  a  similar  church 
iu  Bahoiida.     It  is  from  the  fifth  century. 

^  Dehio ;  Die  kirchliche  Baukunsi  des  Abendlandes,  p.  82. 


EAJILY  CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE. 


211 


San  Clemente. 


Another  oi'iginal  private  basilica  was  San  Clemente,  at  Rome. 
In  the  ninth  cen- 
tury Pope  John 

VIII.  introduced  the  marble 

balustrades   of   the    presby- 

terium,    together    with    the 

chancels,     high    altar,     and 

seats.      Excavations  ' '  show 

that  the   present   church   is 

a  reduction  of  a  larger  one, 

which,  in  turn,  stood  partly 

upon    a    very   ancient    wall 

of  binding  masonry  of  tufa 

(possibly     from     the     time 

of    the    kings),    and    partly 

upon  a  brick  wall  that  prob- 
ably belonged  to  the  dwell- 
ing-house of  Clement  him- 
self {v.  Figs.  82,  83,  and  87). 

This  foundation  furnishes  a 

good  example  of  the  form  of 

the  private  Roman  basilica." 
A   third    example    is   the 

church   of   Santa    Croce    in 

Gerusalemme,  in  Rome.     At  the  request  of  Helena,  mother  of  Con- 

stantine,  the  pagan  Basilica 
Sessoriana  was  changed,  as 
tradition  says,  into  a  deposi- 
tory for  a  piece  of  the  true 
cross.  This  building  (Figs. 
88  and  89)  is  three-naved,  and 
preserves  more  nearly  than 
others  the  peculiar  features  of 
the  Roman  law  basilica.  The 
galleries,  from  which  a  view  of 
the  lower  floor  could  be  had 
through  the  spaces  between 
the  columns,  are  conformable 
to  the  original  type,  and  the 

'  V.  de  Rossi:  Bullettino  Arch,  crist,  April,  1863. 

^  Tlie  single-lined  parts  of  Fig.  86  give  the  form  of  the  original  church ;  the  double- 
lined  represent  the  old  tufa  wall  from  the  time  of  the  kings  ;  the  black  portions  show: 
the  remains  of  the  Clementine  palace,  while  the  blank  outline  is  the  modern  church. 


Fig.  87.— San  Clemente,  Rome.    Groundplan,  show- 
ing variety  of  structures. 


3.  —  Cross-sectlou  of  Basilica  Sessoriana,  or 
Santa  Croce  in  Gerusalemme,  Rome. 


213 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


equal  height  of  the  ceiling  of  the  main  and  side  naves  also  suggests 
its  pagan  origin.  According  to  the  restorations,  as  given  by 
Hiibsch  (Fig.  89),  the  vestibule  was  decorated  with  six  columns; 
the  apse  was  of  unusual  breadth,  reaching  almost  to  the  outer 
enclosing  walls,  leaving  only  a  narrow  passage-way  to  rooms  at 
the  extremity  of  the  church;  the  outer  boundaiy  walls  were  rec- 
tangular, thus  giving  no  suggestior 
of  the  spacious  semicircular  apse 
within. 

Among  the  very  earliest  and  most 
noteworthy  monuments  santa  Pudenzi- 
of  Christian  architec-  ^t^^- 
ture,  Hiibsch '  ranks  the  Church  of 
Santa  Pudenziana,  at  Rome.  Its  tra- 
ditions reach  back  to  the  apostolic 
times.  It  is  said  that  the  senator 
Pudens  lodged  the  apostle  Peter  in 
his  palace  on  this  very  site,  that  his 
sons  built  baths  therein,  and  that 
at  the  earnest  request  of  St.  Prex- 
edes,  Pope  Pius  I.,  about  A.  D.  145, 
in  honour  of  St.  Pudentiana,  con- 
verted this  palace  and  the  baths  into 
a  Christian  church,  under  the  title 
of  SS.  Pastor  and  Pudens.'''  With- 
out being  able  to  account  for  all  the 
motives,  it  is  plain  that  the  transfor- 
mation of  a  secular  biiilding  into  a 
place  of  Christian  worship  lay  at  the 
foundation  of  this  tradition.*  The 
opinion  expressed  by  Hiibsch  that 
this  refers  only  to  the  small  chapel 
of  the  church,  Santa  Pudenziana,  in 
which,  at  present,  the  altar  of  St. 
Peter  is  pointed  out,  is  entitled  to 
respectful  attention.^     This  church  (Fig.  90)  ^  is  an  oblong  parallel- 

^  Altchristliche  Kirchen,  Carlsnihe,  1862,  fol.,  s.  6,  taf.  vii,  viii.  De  Rossi  has  ex- 
amined this  church  with  much  care,  and  has  also  traced  the  argument  for  its  great 
age.     V.  Bullettino crist.,  1864:,  1867.  1869,  1875. 

*  V.  J.  H.  Parker:  The  House  of  Pudeiis  in  Rome,  in  Archceological  Journal,  vol, 
Xxviii,  1871,  pp.  42,  43. 

3  Stockbauer :  Ber  christliche  Kirchenbau,  s.  48.  *  Op.  cit,  s.  7. 

*  The  dark  lines  mark  the  boundary  of  the  church;  the  other  Imes  are  the  outline 
of  vaulted  rooms  adjacent,  and  very  ancient. 


Fig.  89.-  Groundplan  of  Fig. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


213 


ogram,  of  about  the  same  size  as  the  Sasilica  Sichiiana  (San 
Andrea  in  Barbara).  It  has  been  made  ugly  through  recent 
restorations.  The  interior  is  three  naved  with  a  portico.  The 
vaulted  space  behind  the  apse  is 
very  ancient,  also  the  before-mentioned 
chapel,  whose  apse  appears  to  be  con- 
nected with  the  wall  of  an  ancient 
foundation  which  belongs  to  the  best 
period  of  Roman  architecture.  With 
little  doubt  it  may  be  regarded  as 
a  portion  of  the  ancient  senatorial  pal- 
ace.' The  side  naves  were  one-storied, 
whose  roof  was  a  lean-to,  but  which,  by 
the  unusual  elevation  of  the  enclosing 
wall,  became  nearly  equal  in  height  to 
that  of  the  middle  nave.  In  front  of 
the  present  entrance  is  found  a  very  an- 
cient portal  with  twisted  columns.  The 
shafts  of  the  columns  bounding  the  mid- 
dle nave,  of  dark  gray  marble,  have  been 
taken  from  some  ancient  monument, 
while  the  capitals  and  bases  seem  to 
have  been  wrought  out  expressly  for 
their  present  use.^  For  the  study  of 
the  original  derivation  and  structure  of 
the  Christian  basilica  this  church  is  of 
first  importance.  Its  arrangement  en- 
ables the  archseologist  to  distinguish  the  changes  which  pagan 
buildings  underwent  to  adapt  them  to  the  purposes  of  Christian 
worship.  The  resemblance  of  the  apse  of  this  church  to  that 
of  Santa  Croce  in  Gerusalemme  is  most  striking  and  suggestive 
(y.  Fig.  89). 

Perhaps  the  most  perfectly  preserved  monument  of  a  pre-Con- 
stantine  Christian  basilica  is  the  crypt  of  Santa  Maria  in  ganta  Maria  in 
Cosmedin.  It  seems  to  have  been  built  within  the  en-  cosmedin. 
closure  of  an  ancient  heathen  temple.  It  is  certain  that  the  present 
church,  founded  by  Hadrian  I.  in  the  eighth  century,  and  enlarged 
and  beautified  by  Calixtus  II.  in  the  twelfth,  contains  several  parts 
of  the  original  building.  Noteworthy  are  eight  fluted  columns, 
which  are  clearly  of  antique  origin.  The  pre-Constantine  portion 
is  subterranean,  having  a  length  of  thirty-four  palms  (Roman)  and 
a  breadth  of  seventeen  palms.  The  smooth,  vaulted  ceiling  of  large 
'  Stock'oauer :   Op.  cit,  s.  49.  '  Stock bauer :    Op.  cit,  ss.  48,  49. 


Pig.  90.— Groundplan  of  Santa  Pu- 
denziana,  Rome. 


214  ARCHAEOLOGY   OF    CHRISTIAN   ART. 

blocks  of  travertine '  rests  immediately  upon  capitals  whose  rude- 
ness proves  them  to  be  of  different  origin  from  the  shafts  them- 
selves. The  six  columns  of  marble  and  granite,  standing  in  the 
nave  and  aisles,  were  evidently  taken  from  the  temple  on  whose  site 
the  basilica  was  built.  In  the  wall  are  seen  small  niches,  resem- 
bling a  columbarium,"  which  were  used,  as  the  learned  Crescimbeni 
Pre-Constan-  conjectures,  as  places  of  prayer  and  meditation.  This 
tine.  church  was  built,  it  is  believed,  as  early  as  the  third 

quarter  of  the  third  century  by  Dionysius,  Bishop  of  Rome.  Its 
severe  simplicity  of  style  and  arrangement,  as  well  as  its  high 
antiquity,  give  to  it  the  greatest  importance  among  Christian  art 
antiquities.^  The  suggestions  it  furnishes  with  respect  to  the  activ- 
ity of  the  Church  and  the  toleration  of  the  Roman  government 
prior  to  the  Christian  emperors  are  most  valuable. 

5.   Basilicas  of  Roman  Origin  in  the  Time  of  Constantine. 

Amid  the  conflicting  opinions  respecting  the  character  of  Con- 
stantine, and  the  motives  which  influenced  him  to  make  Christianity 
the  religion  of  the  Roman  state,  there  is  more  substantial  agree- 
ment respecting  the  wonderful  influence  of  his  conversion  on  the 
constantine's  fortunes  of  the  Christian  Church,  on  its  doctrine, 
influence.  polity,  and  life.     In  many  important  respects  his  reign 

was  epoch-making:  the  more  profoundly  it  is  studied  the  more 
clearly  do  the  high,  statesmanlike  qualities  of  this  great  ruler 
appear.  He  may  justly  take  rank  among  a  score  of  noted  men 
whose  influence  has  been  indelibly  impressed  upon  human  history, 
since  his  clearly  conceived  policy  affected  the  fortunes  of  the  Christ- 
ian Church  for  a  thousand  years. 

To  what  extent  remorse  for  the  fearful  crimes  of  which  he  was 
guilty,  in  causing  the  death  of  Crispus,  of  young  Licinius,  and  of 
his  own  wife,  Fausta,  may  have  influenced  Constantine  to  favor  the 
Church  and  to  encourage  the  building  of  basilicas,  may  not  be 
known.  The  donation  of  the  Lateran  palace  to  the  Roman  bishops, 
the  building  of  St.  Peter's,  and  the  pilgrimage  of  Helena,  the 
stricken,  suffering  mother,  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  erection  of  the  ba- 
silicas at  Bethlehem,  Jerusalem,  and  on  Olivet,  where  tradition  had 
located  the  three  most  important  events  in  the  life  of  Christ,  appear 
to  have  been  nearly  coincident  with  these  crimes  which  were  per- 
petrated during  his  last  visit  to  Rome.  Our  subject  is  more  directly 
concerned  with  the  fact  that  from  this  time  Christian  art  received 
remarkable  encouragement  from  the  emperor. 

'  Forster:  Mittel  u.   Unter  lialien,  s.  264.  '^  Forster:  Id.  I.  c. 

3  Hemans:  Ancient  Christianity  and  Sacred  Art,  pp.  8,  9. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE,  215 

From  the  Church  of  the  catacombs  to  be  the  Church  of  the  empire 

was  an  unparalleled  transition.     Yet  even  such  a  change  could  but 

slowly  and  gradually  transform  the  prevalent  fashions  and  tastes. 

It  is  generally  true  that  "  institutions  laa:  behind  the  cir-  _^ 

°  ''  .  .  '^    ,  The    transfor- 

cumstances  that  furnish  opportunity  for  their  growth  and  mation    grad- 

development."  The  social,  moral,  and  political  inertia  "'''• 
of  an  age  prevents  it  from  immediately  leaping  to  the  embrace  of  all 
its  possibilities.  Hence  history  furnishes  few  violent  catastrophes. 
Even  barbarian  invasions  can  bring  but  partial  ruin,  and  the  resist- 
ance to  change  which  is  inherent  in  the  race  causes  an  ebb  and  flow 
in  human  affairs  rather  than  a  destructive  cataclysm.  Architecture 
likewise  obeyed  this  general  law.  Here,  too,  transitions  were 
gradual.  The  opportunities  and  demands  for  moi-e  impressive  forms 
of  religious  seiwice,  and  the  greater  numbers  that  from  various 
motives  now  crowded  the  places  of  worship,  created  a  need  for 
further  changes  in  the  interior  of  the  buildings  already  dedicated 
to  Christian  uses,  and  furnished  the  occasion  for  the  new  and  im- 
posing structures  erected  during  the  Constantinian  and  post- 
Constantinian  period.  Here,  too,  the  needs  of  worship,  imposing 
and  not  the  demands  of  art,  begat  the  fundamental  ehurcbes. 
form.'  Its  origin  is,  therefore,  due  to  the  religious  feeling  and  to 
the  spirit  of  worship,  rather  than  to  the  aesthetic  feeling.*  In  the 
readjustment  of  the  existing  churches,  as  well  as  in  those  newly 
erected,  the  Christian  artists  of  the  fourth  century  were  uncon- 
sciously planning  a  building  that  would,  through  the  efforts  of 
succeeding  centuries,  be  developed  into  the  glory  and  perfection  of 
ecclesiastical  architecture. 

At  first  the  oblong  rectangular  basilica  was  extended  throughout 
the  whole  empire.  Not  until  the  fifth  century  did  the  central  sys- 
tem give  rise  to  any  imposing  churches,  while  the  dis-  ^^^^^^  ^^.^^ 
tinctively  Byzantine  did  not  reach  its  full  development  constantine's 
till  the  sixth.  The  west,  however,  adhered  closely  to  «me  survives. 
the  basilica  type  for  a  thousand  years.  Rome  furnishes  the  best 
examples;  unfortunately,  however,  of  the  many  churches  built  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Constantine  little  has  been  preserved. 

The  most  trustworthy  accounts  lead  us  to  believe  that  during  the 
first  five  centuries  more  than  a  hundred  churches  were  built  in  Rome 
and  its  immediate  vicinity.  The  originality  of  these  Lack  of  ong- 
structures  was  at  first  very  slender.  The  appropriation  inaiity. 
of  pagan  structures  to  Christian  worship,  and  the  use  of  columns  and 
ready  prepared  materials  'for  building  new  churches,  was  not  f avor- 

'Schnaase:   Op.cit,  2te,  Ausgabe,  Bd.  iii,  s.  53. 

'  Rosengarten :  Handbook  of  Architectural  Styles,  p.  170. 


216 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


able  to  original  production.     At  first  the  new  spiritual  life  only 

Decay  of  the  sanctified  what  was  at  hand.     The  four  hundred  temples 

heatheu  tem-  ^^^^  ^isid  SO  lone^  been  a  stumbling-block  to  the  purity- 
pies  and  wor-  ^  .  =*  i  .; 
ship.                of  the  Church,  and  whose  rites  must  have  caused  deep 

regret  to  the  followers  of  Christ,  became  nearly  empty  and  forsaken. 
Upon  their  ruins  were  to  arise  "  the  houses  of  the  Lord."  "  During 
one  portion  of  her  history  Rome  was  as  a  defiling,  putrefying  corpse ; 
during  an  equal  period  she  renewed  her  youth.  Thus  she  had  a 
double  being  in  the  history  of  humanity,  whose  capital  she  was 
twice  called  to  be."  ' 

From  historic  notices  we  must  believe  that,  of  all  these  churches, 
San  Pietro  in  San  Pietro  in  Vaticano,  built  upon  the  site  of  the  circus 
vaticano.  of  Nero,  was  the  most  imposing  (Figs.  91,  92).     It  was 

five-naved,  with  a  straight  entablature.     The  naves  were  of  unequal 

height,  the  ceiling  was 
finished  with  open 
rafter-work;  the  roof 
of  the  side  naves 
abutted  against  the 
wall  of  the  main  nave 
so  that  it  was  continu- 
ous above  both  the 
side  naves.  The  height 
of  the  ceiling  of  the 
side  naves  was  deter- 
mined by  the  slant  of 
the  roof.  This  church 
Fig.  91.-San  Pietro  in  vaticano,  Rome.  Front  elevation.  ^^^  thoroughly  reno- 
vated and  greatly  enlarged  in  the  ninth  century,  and  continued  to 
be  the  most  conspicuous  example  of  an  early  Christian  basilica 
until  it  was  supplanted  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century 
by  the  present  imposing  church  of  St.  Peter's.  It  was  also  cruciform, 
being  about  351  feet  long,  and  about  190  feet  broad,  the 
middle  nave  being  over  70  feet  wide.  The  twenty-three 
columns  on  each  side  of  the  middle  nave  were  26  feet  1  inches  high.'^ 
In  many  parts  of  the  structure  were  unmistakable  proofs  of 
Heathen  eie-  the  practice  of  incorporating  heathen  handicraft  into 
ments.  Christian  temples.     The  particolored  fragments  placed 

in  the  walls    showed  the  lack  of  competent  artists  to  guide  the 

'  Gregorovius :   Geschichte  der  Stadt  Roms  im  Mittelalter,  Bd.  i,  ss.  5.  6. 

2  Platner  ii.  Urlichs :  Die  Basiliken  d.  christliclien  Boms,  TT.  i-iii.  Platner  u.  Bun- 
seu:  Beschreibung  der  Siadt  Boms,  Bd.  ii,  s.  50,  seq.  Kugler:  Geschichte  der  Baukwist, 
Bd.  i,  s.  384. 


Dimensions. 


218 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN    ART. 


taste  of  Christians  in  the  ornamentation  of  their  public  buildings. 
Figure  92  also  shows  the  arrangement  of  the  triumphal  arch 
and  of  the  sanctuarium,  together  with  the  method  of  ornamenta- 
tion with  mosaics,  etc.  From  the  notices  that  have  been  preserved 
it  is  believed  that  in  front  of  the  church  proper  was  a  vestibule, 
or  atrium,  which  was  enclosed  by  a  peristyle.     In  the  center  of  this 

enclosed  space  was  the  fountain, 
around  which  were  seats  for  the 
use  of  those  who  kept  the  burial 
feasts  when  funeral  rites  were 
celebrated.  A  description  of 
siTch  feasts  in  his  time  has  been 
given  by  Paulinus  of  Nola.  The 
arrangement  very  closely  corre- 
sponds to  that  found  at  the  en- 
trance to  the  Catacomb  of  Dom- 
itilla,  before  referred  to  (v.  pp. 
175, 1 75),  and  has  an  almost  exact 
counterpart  in  the  pagan  schola. 
Fig.  93  is  the  representation  of 
rig.93.-AtriumofSyivanus,ViaAppia,Rome.     ^  schola    from    the    republican 

period.  It  is  known  as  the  Atrium  of  Sylvanus,  discovered  on  the 
Appian  Way.  It  has  the  portico,  the  fountain  in  the  center  of  the 
enclosed  square,  and  the  stone  benches  running  around  the  walls, 
which  could  be  used  by  those  who  celebrated  the  burial  feasts.' 

Another  interesting  church  of  its  day  was  San  Giovanni  in  Late- 
San  Giovanni  I'ano,  Otherwise  known  as  the  Basilica  Constantiniana  or 
in  Laterano.  Salvatoris.  It  is  doubtf ul  whether  any  portion  of  the 
original  survives  in  the  modern  gorgeous  building.  Some  have 
claimed  that  the  octagonal  baptistery,  with  its  eight  antique  por- 
phyry columns,  belongs  to  the  age  of  Coustantine;  but  more  prob- 
ably this  was  erected  by  Sixtus  III.  about  the  year  A.  D.  432.  From 
every  account  of  the  historians  this  Lateran  palace,  which  had  be- 
longed to  Fausta,  was  the  gift  of  the  great  emperor  to  the  Bishop 
of  Rome.  The  palace  and  church  of  the  Lateran,  rather  than  St. 
Peter's  and  the  Vatican,  became  the  center  of  Christian  and  papal 
The  cathedral  Rome.  This,  and  not  St.  Peter's,  was  the  cathedral 
church.  church  where  all  the  Roman  councils  have  been  held.* 

It  was  the  early  residence  of  the  Roman  pontiffs,  and  is  still  the 
place  where  they  are  enthroned  and  crowned.^ 

'  Caniua:    Via  Appia,  t.  42,  p.  174. 

^  The  Vatican  Council  assembled  by  Pius  IX.  is  an  exception. 

^  V.  Stanley :  History  of  the  Eastern  Church,  Lecture  vi. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  319 

On  the  Ostian  Way  just  outside  the  city  walls,  over  the  spot 
where  tradition  says  the  pious  matron  Lucina  had  pre-  gan  Paaio  fuori 
pared  in  the  subterranean  passages  on  her  estate  a  grave  ^^  '^  ^ura. 
for  St.  Paul,  Constantine  had  built  a  small  basilica.'  It  was  soon 
after  (probably  near  the  close  of  the  fourth  century)  displaced  by 
the  magnificent  basilica  of  St.  Paul — the  San  Paolo  fuori  de  la 
tnura  of  a  later  day — which,  notwithstanding  numerous  restorations, 
retained  many  of  its  original  features  till  its  destruction  by  fire  in 
1823.  Fortunately  full  descriptions  and  plans  of  this  noble  monu- 
ment have  been  preserved,  from  which  an  adequate  notion  of  it 
may  be  gained.  It  was  five-naved  with  a  transept,  three  hundred 
and  ninety-two  feet  long  and  two  hundred  and  two  feet  wide.  The 
middle  nave  was  seventy-eight  feet  wide.  Round  arches 
connected  the  rows  of  twenty  columns  separating  the 
naves.  The  columns  bounding  the  main  nave  well  illustrate  the 
methods  of  church  construction  after  Christianity  had  become  the 
religion  of  the  state  :  they  were  thirty-two  feet  high.  Twenty- 
four  of  the  most  beautiful,  of  Corinthian  order,  were  taken  from 
some  building  belonging  to  the  best  period  of  Roman  architecture. 
The  others  were  of  very  inferior  workmanship.*  Those  in  the  side 
naves,  seemingly  prepared  expressly  for  this  church,  mark  the  sad 
decadence  of  art  in  the  time  of  Constantine  and  of  his  immediate 
successors.  Prudentius  informs  us  that  the  ceiling  was  decorated 
with  gilt  rafter- work.  3 

Reference  has  already  been  made  (p.  214)  to  the  motives  of 
Constantine  in  building  votive  churches  on  the  sacred  sites  in 
Palestine.  He  aimed  to  conciliate  the  East,  which  he  had  con- 
quered from  his  rival  Licinius.  Special  privileges  and  aid  for 
church  building  were  granted  to  the  bishops  of  the  most  influential 
dioceses  in  Asia  Minor  and  Syria.  Notices  of  many  of  these  have 
been  preserved  by  Christian  writers,  especially  by  Eusebius  and 
Prudentius,  and  the  ruins  of  a  few  still  remain  to  attest  their  mag- 
nificence. Of  the  beautiful  basilica  built  by  Paulinus  at  Tro}'^, 
and  described  by  Eusebius,*  nothing  survives.  So,  also,  with  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  at  Jerusalem,  and  the  Church  of  the 
Ascension  on  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Fortunately,  the  church  at 
Bethlehem,  built  over  the  cave  where  tradition  locates  The  church  ot 
the  birthplace  of  the  Savioui-,  has  partially  survived,  the  Nativity. 
It  seems  fairly  established  that   most  of  the  present  structure  is 

'  Forster:  Mittel  u.  Unter  Italien,  s.  275. 

*  H.  Gaily  Knight,  vol.  i,  plate  iv.  ^  Peristephanon,  Hymn  xii. 

*  Hifit.  Eccles.,  lib.  x,  cap.  iv.     v.  Quast :  Die  alt-christlichen  Baumerk  von  Ravenna, 
ss.  29,  30. 


220  ARCHEOLOGY   OF    CHRISTIAN    ART. 

original.  It  is  five-naved,  with  Corinthian  columns  supporting  a 
straight  entablature  on  which  rests  the  wall.  On  it  outlines  of 
earlier  paintings  can  still  be  traced.'  At  the  end  of  the  naves  are  a 
spacious  transept,  choir,  and  apses,  well  lighted  by  a  series  of  win- 
dows in  the  upper  part  of  the  church.  One  is  immediately  carried 
back  to  such  a  Roman  basilica  as  was  built  by  Constantine  for 
A  (rood  exam-  Christian  worship,  but  which  by  being  developed  and 
pie  of  the  ba-  transformed  became  the  point  of  departure  for  the 
sUica.  religious    architecture    of    the    subsequent    centuries." 

Few  visitors  to  this  venerable  building  are  not  deeply  impressed 
by  its  noble  art  and  massive  grandeur.  It  stands  as  a  mute  yet 
eloquent  witness  to  the  power  of  the  religion  whose  spirit  yet 
finds  expression  in  this  monument  which  has  survived  the  rude 
shocks  of  fifteen  centuries. 

§  6.  Some  Basilicas  of  the  Post-  Constantine  Period. 
The  establishment  of  two  independent  empires,  each  having  its 
Contrasts  of  own  capital,  gave  opportunity  for  the  development 
East  and  West,  of  each  in  harmony  with  its  own  peculiar  genius. 
While  originally  receiving  its  inspiration  from  the  East,  the  Latin 
soon  became  more  purely  and  intensely  Latin;  the  East,  the  mother 
of  all,  became  more  and  more  Oriental.  These  contrasts  reveal 
themselves  alike  in  State  and  Church.  The  Byzantine  empire 
degenerated  into  an  Oriental  absolutism;  the  West  steadily  devel- 
oped a  practical  and  efficient  constitutionalism.  The  Greek  Church 
was  content  with  immobility  in  doctrinal  and  political  forms;  the 
West  was  ever  agitated  by  earnest  struggles  respecting  life,  doc- 
trine, and  polity.  The  practical  mind  of  the  West  aimed  to  keep 
institutions  abreast  with  the  growing  spirit  of  freedom  among  the 
people;  the  speculative  spirit  of  the  East  was  often  content  to  ex- 
haust itself  in  controversies  whose  effect  was  scarcely  felt  beyond 
the  local  church  or  the  cloister. 

A  like  contrast  is  noted  in  the  art  of  the  two  empires.  Each 
pursued  its  own  chosen  course  of  development,  and  each  alike  was 
influenced  by  the  different  conditions  of  social,  political,  and  re- 
ligious life.  The  West  soon  felt  the  modifying  power  of  the  in- 
vading tribes,  while  the  East  produced  its  peculiar  art  forms  almost 
uninfluenced  by  its  neighbours.  Ravenna  formed  a  middle  ground 
where,  through  the  patronage  of  remarkable  rulers,  the  Teutonic  spir- 
it, modifying  both  the  Eastern  and  the  Western  thought,  produced 
some  most  interesting  and  instructive  architectural  monuments. 

•  Liitzow  und  Liibke:  Denkmaler  der  Kunst,  Stuttgart,  ISTG.  Text,  s.  116. 

'  De  Vogiie:  Les  Eglises  de  la  Terra  Sainte,  Paris,  1860,  ch.  ii. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  221 

Excepting    the  temporary   interference   by   Julian,   Christianity 
in  the  West  enjoyed  the  patronage  and  protection  of 
government.      Although    it   was    a   period    of   serious 
art  decadence,  the  churches  increased  in  number   and  splendour. 
The   decline  of   the   old   faith  and   the  increasing  spread  of   the 
new  contributed  to  these  results.     The  pagan  temples  were  trans- 
formed into  Christian  basilicas,  while  new  churches  rose 
upon  sites  made  sacred  by  the  ashes  of  saints  and  mar- 
tyrs.    The  untrammeled  spirit  of  Christianity  now  further  modified 
the  basilica,  and  fashioned  it  into  forms  fit  for  the  expression  of  the 
sublimest  truths.     Herein  is  the  significance   of  Christianity  in  the 
art  history  of  this  period.     Although  on  the  one  hand  a  decaying 
and  on  the  other  an  embryo  art  contributed  to  their  construction, 
these   Christian  basilicas  produced,  in  the  main,  a  sublime  and  in- 
spiring effect,  which  is  chiefly  attributable  to  the  beautiful  simplic- 
ity of  their  essential  features.' 

The  reign  of  Constantine  was  characterized  by  an  abounding 
splendour  and  luxury  in  court-dress  and  equipage.     Its  gpigndour    of 
magnificence  also  appears  in  the  buildings  of  his  reign  Constantine's 
and  those  of  his  successors.     But  this  spirit  did  not  at  ^^'^°' 
first  so  much  effect  a  change  in  the  form  of  the  basilicas  as  in  the 
extent  and  magnificence  of  their  decorations  and  furniture. 

Of  the  churches  of  the  fourth  century  still  preserved  in  Rome, 
Santa  Maria  Maggiore  is  among  the  richest  and  most  in-  ganta  Maria 
structive.^  It  was  originally  built  in  A.  D.  352,  and  Maggiore. 
renewed  in  A.  D.  432.  It  is  believed  to  be  the  first  church  dedi- 
cated to  the  Virgin.  It  is  two  hundred  and  sixty-two  feet  long 
and  ninety-nine  broad.  Notwithstanding  many  attempts  to  mod- 
ernize it,  it  still  retains  parts  of  the  original  structure.  Its  imposing 
ranks  of  columns,  well-preserved  ancient  mosaics,  and  horizontal 
entablature  make  it  most  notable  among  the  churches  of  Rome.  Its 
ceiling  follows  the  classical  rather  than  the  early  Christ-  classical  ceii- 
ian  style — being  divided  into  squares  and  ornamented  i°g- 
with  rosettes  rather  than  finished  in  rafter  and  timber  work. 

Santa  Maria  in  Trastavere  disputes  with  Santa  Maria  Maggiore  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  church  dedicated  to  the  Virgin,   ganta  Maria  in 
If  we  are  to  accept  the  tradition,  very  early  and  resting  Trastavere. 
upon  some  foundation,  it  was  first  founded  in  A.  D.  340,  while  Santa 
Maria  Maggiore  was  built  twelve  years  later.     Among  the  most  in- 

'  Rosengarteu:  Architectural  Forms,  p.  170. 

^Bunsen:  Basiliken  d.  cli.  Boms,  tt.   ix,   x.     Forster:  Mittel  u.   Unter  Italien,  ss. 
264,  265.     Kugler:    Geschichte  d.  Baukurist,  Bd.  i,  s.  386.     H.  Gaily  Knight:    The 
Ecclesiastical  Buildings  of  Italy.     Valentini:  La  Patriacale  Basilica  Liberiana. 
16 


232 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 


teresting  featui'es  of  the  interior  are  the  twenty-two  granite  cohimns 
which  divide  the  church  into  three  naves.  They  are  of  different 
heights  and  thickness,  and  sui-mounted  with  capitals  of  different 
Heathen  eie-  Styles,  on  which  are  wrought  out  figures  of  Jupiter, 
ments.  Juno,  and  other  gods  of  the  Grreeks.     This  arangement 

illustrates  the  entire  freedom  with  which  the  Church  of  the  fourth 
century  incorporated  into  its  houses  of  worship  materials  already  at 
hand. 

Portions  of  several  basilicas  of  the  fifth  century  remain,  whose 
peculiarities  are  interesting  and  important  in  the  history  of  ecclesi- 
astical architecture.  Among  the  most  noteworthy  in  the  West  is 
Santa  Sabina,  believed  to  have  been  founded  in  the  first 
quarter  of  the  century.  It  is  the  best  example  of  the 
original  basilica  that  has  survived.  It,  too,  has  twenty-two  antique 
columns  of  pagan  origin.  They  are  of  remarkable  beauty,  having 
Classic  col-  Attic  bases,  Corinthian  capitals,  and  somewhat  slender 
umns.  shafts,  fluted  through  one  third  of  their  length.    A  very 

considerable  portion  of  the  pavement  belonging  to  the  original 
structure  is  still  preserved.' 

•J 


Santa  Sabina. 


Fig.  94.— San  Lorenzo  fuori  le  mura.    Showing  arrangement  of  vestibule  and  roof. 

Of  considerable  architectural  importance  is  the  church  San  Lo- 
san  Lorenzo  I'enzo  fuori  le  mura  {v.  Fig.  94).  It  was  begun  in  the 
fuori  le  mura.  fourth  century,  but  underwent  many  changes  in  the 
sixth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  It  is  a  good  representative  of  the 
class  of  Christian  churches  which  preserved  the  side  galleries  in  the 
second  story,  in  imitation  of  the  peculiar  feature  of  the  pagan  law 
basilica  (v.  Fig.  95).  This  was  not,  as  we  have  already  seen,  intro- 
duced into  the  earliest  churches,  since,  instead  of  a  gallery,  the  walls 


'  Bunsen:  Basiliken  der   christlichen  Eoms,   t.  viii,  B. 
Italien,  ss.  284,  285. 


Forster:   Miitel  u.  Unter 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


223 


bounding  the  middle  nave  were  continuous  to  the  roof,  thus  afford- 
ing greater  space  for  interior  decoration/  To  the  same  class  be- 
longs Santa  Agnese  fuori  le  mura  (Fig.  95),  built,  ac- 
cording to  the  tradition,  by  Constantine  above  the  cata- 
combs where  the  remains  of  St.  Agnes  were  found.  The  side  galleries 
in  the  second  story  are  well  preserved  in  this  church  also. 


Santa  Agnese. 


Fig.  95.— Santa  Agnese  fuori  le  mura.    Interior  view. 

Another  extra  mural  church  of  the  fourth  century  is  Santa  Sinfo- 
rosa,  nine  miles  from  the  city  gates.  It  is  of  special  sama  sinfo- 
interest,  as  illustrating  the  growth  of  important  churches  ^sa. 
of  the  basilica  form  from  cellae,  beneath  which  the  bones  of  martyrs 
were  supposed  to  rest.  It  has  been  elsewhere  stated  that  the  burial 
feasts  were  celebrated  in  or  near  these  cellae,  or  in  exedrae,  and  that 
where  sites  were  of  especial  sacredness  multitudes  were  accustomed 
to  leave  the  city  to  engage  in  these  festivals.     To  accommodate  the 

'  Dehio  imd  Bezold:  Die  kiixhliche  Baukunst  des  Abendlandes,  text,  ss.  107,  108; 
taf.  16,  4.     Bunsen:    Op.  cit.,  tt.  xii,  xiii,  xiv.     Forster:    Op.  cit.,  ss.  257,  258. 


224 


ARCHEOLOGY   OP   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


increasing  numbers  the  simple  cella  in  time  expanded  to  the  impos- 
ing church,  and  the  services  assumed  a  character  of  dignity  and 
impressive  grandeur.  The  exploration  of  Santa  Sinfo-  prom  a  burial 
rosa  revealed  the  existence  of  a  cella,  of  the  usual  form,  chapel, 
lying  directly  back  of  the  apse  of  the  basilica,  and  connected  with 
it  by  a  passage-way  [v.  Fig.  95).  It  is  be- 
lieved that  this  basilica  originated  in  the 
manner  above  indicated,  and  that  it  was  es- 
pecially hallowed  by  its  immediate  proximity 
to  the  resting-place  of  St.  Sinforosa  and  her 
seven  sons." 

Like  the  churches  of  San  Lorenzo,  Santa 
Agnese,  and  Santa  Sinforosa,  so,  also,  are  the 
two  most  important  basilicas  of  Rome  —  San 
Pietro  in  Vaticano,  and  San  Paoli  fuori  le 
mura — believed  to  have  originated  in  sacred 
shrines  outside  the  city  walls.  Of  the  fifth 
century  is  also  San  Pietro  in  vin-  gan  pietro  in 
coli,  a  three-naved  basilica,  with  vincou. 
flat  ceiling  of  wood,  and  with  twenty  antique 
columns  of  finest  Parian  marble,  whose  severe 
Doric  style  gives  to  the  interior  an  air  of 
imi^ressive  simplicity. 

Outside  of  Rome  are  found  remains  of  sev- 
eral churches  of  the  basilica  type  of  archi- 
tecture from  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  cen- 
turies. Ravenna  is  among  the  most  rich  and 
instructive  centers.  It  is  a  favorable  circum- 
stance that  their  complete  history  is  found 
in  the  Biographies  of  the  Bishojys  Good  historic 
of  Ravenna,  by  Agnellus.''  These  churches  have  more  ^^ ^ t ri^evl- 
fully  jireserved  their  original  form  than  those  of  Rome  dence. 
or  Constantinople,  where  the  unwise  zeal  of  succeeding  popes, 
patriarchs,  or  emperors  has  in  many  instances  modified  nearly 
every  feature  of  the  original  structure.  It  is,  therefore,  highl}^ 
imj^ortant  to  understand  the  nature  and  teachings  of  these  archi- 
tectural monuments. 

Compared  with  those  of  Rome,  the  oblong  basilica  simple  in  out- 
churches  of  Ravenna  had  usually  a  very  simple  ground 
plan.     They  were  mostly  three-naved,  without  transept  or  galleries. 

^  Bullettino  cristiano,  1878,  p.  75.     G.  Baldwin  Brown:  From  Scliola  to  Cathedral, 
pp.  64,  65.     Dehio  und  Bezold:    O/x  cit.,  text,  s..  104;  taf.  17,  2. 
'  V.  Quast:  Die  alt-christlichen  Bauwerke  von  Ravenna. 


Fig. 


90.  —  Groundplan  of 
Santa  Sinforosa. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  225 

In  contrast  with  most  of  the  ancient  churches  of  Rome,  they  seem 
to  have  been  built  of  materials  specially  prepared  for  them.  In- 
stead of  the  curious  conglomeration  of  styles  in  the  columns,  with 
respect  to  order,  diameter,  and  height,  and  of  the  materials  of  the 
buildings,  in  Ravenna  a  general  harmony  and  consist-  Generally  har- 
ency  are  noticed.^  The  style  is,  therefore,  more  distinct,  monious. 
and  the  stage  of  architectural  development  more  clearly  marked. 
The  interior  arrangement  is  likewise  simple  and  harmonious.  The 
architrave  is  entirely  wanting,  the  entablature  being  uniformly  sup- 
ported by  the  round  arch.  The  capitals  do  not  immediately  support 
the  arches,  but  are  crowned  with  an  abacus  (v.  Fig.  99).  The  tri- 
bune is  generally  well  defined  and  carefully  decorated.  In  marked 
contrast  with  modern  churches,  the  exterior  was  simple  and  una- 
dorned, the  material  being  usually  brick. 

Quast  *  divides  the  Christian  architectural  monuments  of  Ravenna 
into  four  pei'iods.  The  first  extends  from  the  introduc-  pgnods  of  ar- 
tion  of  Christianity  to  the  downfall  of  the  Western  cwtecture  in 
Empire  in  A.  D.  476;  the  second  from  the  Roman  down-  ^^^^°'^'^- 
fall  to  the  death  of  Theodoric,  A.  D.  476-526;  the  third  from  the 
death  of  Theodoric  to  the  death  of  the  Archbishop  Agnellus,  A.  D. 
526-566;  the  fourth  period  from  the  death  of  Agnellus  to  the 
termination    of    art    activity   in    Ravenna — A.   D.   566    to   about 

A.  D.  900.     Kugler'  divides  into   three   periods,  cor. 

-,.  ,  .  i.p  -TPi        1-  First  period. 

responding  to  the  three  chief  periods  oi  the  his- 
tory of  the  city.  To  the  first  period  belongs  the  cathedral 
church  of  the  town,  the  Ecclesia  Ursiana,  which  was  Ecciesia  ursi- 
built  near  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century.  Unfor-  ana. 
tunately,  on  its  reconstruction  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  original  structure  was  totally  destroyed.  Yet,  from  trust- 
worthy notices  that  have  been  preserved,  we  learn  that  it  was  a  five- 
naved  basilica,  which  preeminence  it  enjoyed  with  only  three  of 
the  most  noted  churches  of  Rome.  Certain  expressions  of  Agnellus 
lead  us  to  believe  that  the  entire  church  area  was  covered  with  a 

vaulted  ceiling.   It  was  originally  dedicated  to  the  resur- 

^/^iT-r  -.1,  1  1    Its  decorations. 

rection  of  Christ.    Its  pavements  and  walls  were  adorned 

with  costly  marbles  and  rich  mosaics.     The   arrangement  of   the 

choir  resembled  that  of  San  Clemente  at  Rome.'     The  surviving 

baptisterium  is  elsewhere  described. 

'  V.  Quast:   Op.  cit,  s.  44.     Kugler:   Op.  al,  Bd.  i,  s.  394. 
^  Die  alt-christlichen  Bauioerken  von  Ravenna,  ss.  2,  17,  27,  40 
^  GescMchte  der  Baukunst,  Bd.  i,  s.  395. 

*  Quast:  Die  alt-christlichen  Bauvjerke  von  Ravenna,  Berlin,  1842,8.2.    Dehio  und 
Bezold  :    Op.  cit,  Taf.  17,  Fig.  4.     D'Agiucourt:  PI.  Ixx,  Fig.  21. 


326 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


Santa  Agata. 


Second  period. 


To  the  same  period  belongs  Santa  Agata,  a  three-naved  church 
closely  conforming  to  the  typical  oblong  basilica,  yet 
possessing  little  of  special  interest. 

The  period  of  civil  commotion  following  the  death  of  Valentinian 
III.  was  unfavorable  to  the  patronage  of  ecclesiastical 
art.  The  fearful  inroads  of  Attila  and  Odoacer  had 
brought  destruction  in  their  pathway  until  the  triumph  of  the  Ostro- 
gothic  king,  Theodoric,  in  A.  D.  495.  This  remarkable  The  policy  of 
ruler  restored  to  Italy  a  measure  of  the  prosperity  Theodoric. 
enjoyed  before  her  desperate  struggles  with  the  barbarians.  Though 
unlettered,  he  was  a  patron  of  learning,  and  greatly  beautified 
Ravenna  and  other  cities  of  his  realm  by  the  erection  of  many 
new  churches.  His  task  was  one  of  extreme  difficulty.  An  Ostro- 
gothic  king,  he  must  not  only  reconcile  the  two  fiercely  contend- 
ing peoples,  but  also  pacify  the  orthodox  and  Arian  parties  in 
the  Church.  The  Gothic  tribes  had  largely  embraced  the  Arian 
doctrine,  and  Theodoric  was  himself  its  defender.  His  nobility 
of  character  is  shown  in  his  carefully  refraining  from  persecution 
of  opponents,  and  by  granting  to  the  orthodox  party  the  ^is  tolerant 
privilege  of  building  and  owning  their  own  churches,   spirit. 

and  of  using  their  own  confession  of 
faith  and  forms  of  worship.  The  archi- 
tectural interest  of  his  reign  is  con- 
nected very  largely  with  the  churches 
of  the  Arian  party,  some  xhe  Arian 
of  which  were  built  out-  churches. 
side  the  walls  of  the  city,  and  some  at 
the  port  of  Classe.  Several  within  the 
city  have  been  preserved  to  our  time, 
and  constitute  an  interesting  group  of 
ecclesiastical  monuments.  Among  the 
most  noted  is  San  Apollinare  Nuovo, 
formerly  called  Basilica  gan  Apoiiin- 
San  Martini  in  coelo  aureo,  are  Nuova. 
so  named  from  its  great  splendour.  It 
was  connected  directly  with  the  royal 

palace,  and   seems  to  have   been  re- 
Fig.  97.— San  Apollinare  Nuovo,  Ra-    i'  •ni  4.v,u» 
venna,  showing  interior  structure  and    garded   aS  specially  the  COUrt  Ctiurcn. 

decoration.  The  exterior  of  the  upper  part  of  the 

middle  nave  has  been  preserved  entire.     The  same  style  of  round 
arch,  built  of  brick,  which  we  have  before  met  in    the  churches  of 
'Quast:  Op.  cit.,  s.  19,  Taf.  vii,  Fig.  1,  2,  3,  4.     Dehio  und  Bezold:  Taf.  16.  Fig.  5. 
D'Agincourt:  Plate  xvii,  17-22. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


227 


Third  period. 


the  first  period  (as  in  Santa  Agata),  is  here  repeated.  The  columns 
of  the  interior  (y.  Fig.  97)  have  Corinthian  capitals  with  a  square 
abacus  quite  in  the  Byzantine  style.  ^ 

The  splendid  churches  built  by  the  Catholic  party  belong  properly 
to  the  tliird  period.  The  most  noted  had  been  com- 
menced during  the  Gothic  supremacy,  but  were  finished 
and  decorated  at  a  later  date.  For  the  most  part  they  were  no 
longer  constructed  under  the  direction  of  kings  and  rulers,  but  of 
the  ecclesiastics  who  held  allegiance  to  Constantinople.  From  this 
time,  therefore,  the  Byzantine  influence  is  much  more  pronounced 
in  the  buildings  of  Ravenna. 

The  Christian  archoeologist,  in  search  of  new  illustrations  of  the 
life  and  vigor  of  the  early  Church,  meets  few  more  im-  gan  Apoiiinare 
pressive  monuments  than  the  Basilica  of  San  Apoiiinare  i^  ciasse. 
in  Ciasse  (Fig.   98).      During  the  three-mile  walk  from  Ravenna 


Fig.  98.— San  ApuUiuare  iu  Ciasse. 

to  Ciasse  amid  scenes  so  full  of  historic  and  literary  interest,  the 
memories  of  events  decisive  in  the  world's  history  troop  before  the 
visitor  like  specters  from  the  entombed  generations.  This  church 
stands  out  in  its  solitariness,  the  sole  survivor  of  all  the  The  solitary 
edifices  that  crowded  the  busy  port  of  Ciasse,  where  monument. 
Augustus  moored  his  conquering  fleets.  Its  tower  still  stands  to 
point  the  faith  of  men  to  the  Author  of  a  religion  that  shall  never 
know  decay,  while  beneath  it  sleeps  the  dust  of  forty  generations. 

'  For  description  of  mosaics  see  pp.  125,  127.  Pig.  97  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  con- 
struction of  the  columns,  the  form  of  arches,  the  rich  mosaic  decorations  of  the 
entablature,  etc. 


228 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 


The  Interior. 


Even  to  the  portico,  the  building  remains  in  all  its  original  integrity. 
Only  a  portion  of  the  marble  which  lined  the  interior 
walls  has  been  removed  (v.  Fig.  99).  It  is  a  three- 
naved  basilica  with  elevated  choir,  to  which  lead  stairs  of  the  entire 
breadth  of  the  middle  nave.  It  is  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  feet 
long  and  one  hundred  feet  broad,  having  on  either  side  twelve  taper- 
ing columns  of  Grecian  marble  with  Corinthian  capitals.' 

The  fiu'niture,  altar,  etc.,  are  still  preserved.  The  original  mosaics 
The  mosaics,  "1  the  tribune  {v.  Fig.  99)  and  on  the  side  walls  remain 
etc.  in  all  their  freshness  to  tell  the  story  of  the  religious 

thought  of  the  sixth  century.     On  the  beautiful  frieze  above  the 


Fig.  99.— San  Apollinare  In  Classe.    Interior  view. 

columns  bounding  the  middle  nave  is  a  series  of  mosaic  medallions 
(v.  Fig.  99)  of  the  bishops  of  this  church  from  the  time  of  St.  Apol- 
linarius.  They  are  most  noteworthy.  The  capitals  of  the  columns, 
as  of  the  pilasters,  have  much  value  and  interest  in  the  history  of 
architectural  development,  since  they  are  the  first  examples  of  an 
ornamentation  which  was  subsequently  widely  diffused.'* 
Exterior  con-  The  exterior  of  the  church  is  of  brick,  whose  joints 
struction.  of  mortar  are  nearly  as  thick  as  the  bricks  themselves. 

The  vestibule,  apparently  contemporary  with  the  main  structure,  is 

'Forster:  Mittelu.  Unter  Italien,  ss.  389,  390.     Quast:    Op.  cit,  ss.  34-37,  Taf.  ix. 
D'Agincoiirt :  Plates  Ixviii  and  Ixix.     Dehio  und  Bezold:   Op.  ciL,  Taf.  16,  Fig.  8. 
^  Quast:   Op.  cit.,  s.  35,  taf.  ix,  Figs.  3,  4. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  229 

of  great  interest  from  containing  the  remains  of  many  successive 
bishops  of  this  church.  In  San  Apollinare  in  Classe,  in  common 
with  several  other  churches  of  Ravenna,  a  growing  External  beau- 
attention  to  exterior  beauty  and  harmony  is  noticed,  ty- 
Previously  the  basilicas  had  very  broad  and  open  windows;  a  con- 
struction unfavourable  to  the  support  of  the  heavy  weight  resting  on 
the  architraves;  but  when  the  round  arch  was  generally  introduced 
this  difficulty  no  longer  existed.     The  windows  were 

ThG   windows. 

made  narrower,  the  light  admitted  became  less  and  less, 
until  the  passion  for  "  a  dim  religious  light "  led  to  the  entire  ab- 
sence of  windows  in  the  upper  part  of  the  middle  nave. 

Of  much  interest  ai'e  the  cathedral  church  of  Novara,  from  the 
sixth  century,  and  the  cathedral  of  Parengo,  in  Istria,   cathedrals    of 
from  the  seventh.     They  are  distinguished  by  having  a  Novara  and  Pa- 
f  orecourt  and  a  baptistery  very  closely  incorporated  into  ''^°^*^- 
their  architectural   structure.     This  feature  is  believed  by  Hiibsch 
to  have  been  first  introduced  during  the  sixth  century.     The  latter 
church  has  been  well  preserved,  is  rich  in  mosaics  and 
paintings,  and  retains  the  original  marble  pavement  in 
the  middle  nave.     While  the  mosaics  of  the  fa9ade  are  weather- 
beaten  and  much  faded,  from  their  outlines  a  fair  idea  of  their  sub- 
jects and  style  of  treatment  can  be  gained. 

In  the  non-European  lands  are  still  preserved  many  examples  of 

the  oblona:  rectansfular  basilica,  whose  original  may  be 

T     „  IP,  T  -T.         •  St.  Reparatus. 

traced    from    the    fourth    century    down.      Promment 

among  these  is  the  Basilica  Reparatus,  discovered  on  the  site  of 
the  ancient  Castellum  Tingitanum  (the  modern  Orleans ville),  in 
Algiers.^  It  was  a  five-naved  church  with  semicircular  apse  which 
projected  toward  the  middle  of  the  church,  thus  forming  rooms 
on  either  side,  while  the  exterior  boundaries  of  the  church  were 
straight  lines.* 

Ruins  of  like  churches  are  also  found  at  Tafaced  (Colonia  Tipae- 
sa),  at  Annuna,  etc.  Farther  toward  the  East,  at  the  old  port  of 
Apollonia,  three  ruined  basilicas  have  been  found,  whose  art  remains 
are  interesting  for  showing  the  commingling  of  Christian  and  Egyp- 
tian symbolism.^  Also  in  many  parts  of  Egypt  ruins  of 
these  early  Christian  churches  of  the  basilica  form  are 
still  met.      They  are   not   confined  to  the  cities  nor  to  the  Nile 

'  For  the  chronology  of  this  church  see  p.  33,  note  2. 

'  The  form  of  this  apse  is  very  similar  to  that  of  San  Croce  in  Gerusalemme, 
Fig.  81. 

^  Kugler:  Geschichte  der  Baukunst,  Bd.  i,  ss.  373,  374.  These  have  been  well  de- 
scribed by  H.  Barth,  in  his  Journeys  through  the  Coastlands  of  the  Mediterranean. 


230 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 


valley,  but  are  found  on  oases  in  the  Lybian  desert,  as  at  El-Hayz, 
El-Gabuat,  and  El-Zabu. 

In  the  Nile  valley,  extending  far  south,  churches  of  the  fourth 
.    ,         and  fifth  centuries  still  preserve  many  very  interesting 

Extensively  .  r  j  j  o 

diffused  in  the  and  instructive  features.  Their  number  and  size,  their 
Nile  valley.  ^-^^.^  q^^i  remains,  their  connection  in  some  instances 
with  extended  convents  and  religious  communities,  are  confirmatory 
evidence  of  the  widespread  influence  of  Christianity  among  the 
Egyptian  peoples,  while  their  peculiar  architectural  features  seem 
to  furnish  some  foundation  for  the  theory  that  Egypt  was  the  na- 
tive home  of  the  basilica,  being  appropriated  by  the  Greeks,  and 
then,  in  modified  form,  becoming  a  ruling  type  in  the  West-Roman 
Empire. 

Also  the  church    of   St.    Demetrius  (Fig.  100),  at   Thessalonica 
(modern  Salonika),  belongs  to  the  fifth  century.     It  is  a  five-naved 

structure  with  a  tran- 


sept.  It  departs,  in 
some  respects,  quite 
widely  from  the  iisual 
basilica  form.  The 
spaces  between  the 
columns  are  spanned 
by  semicircular  arches 
surmounted  by  an  en- 
tablature covered  with 
paintings.  Above  this 
is  a  second  row  of  col- 
umns with  a  like  entablature,  and  above  this  a  third,  in  which  are 
the  windows  for  lighting  the  interior.  Like  many  of  the  conspicu- 
ous churches  of  the  Orient,  it  is  now  a  Mohammedan  mosque.' 

Contemporary  with  St.  Demetrius  is  another  church  of  Salonika, 
now  called  the  mosque  Eski-Djouma.     It  is  three-naved  with  a  tran- 
sept, and  its  general  features  are  similar  to  those  of  St.  Demetrius. 
Of  still  greater  interest  are  the  churches  of  central  Syria.     These 
have  been  made  better  known  through  the  diligent  re- 
searches  of  the  Count  de  Vogiie."     It  is  evident  from 
his  discoveries  that  during  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  while  the 
West  was  in  a  condition  of  disruption  and  fearful  decadence.  Christ- 
ian art  in  Syria  was  in  a  state  of  unwonted  activity.     The  number 

•  Texier  and  Pullau:  L' Architecture  Byzantine,  p.  134,  pi.  xvii-xxvi.  Kiigler: 
Gescliichte  d.  Bauktmsl,  Bd.  i,  s.  433.     Stockbauer:  Der  christliche  Kirchenbau,  s.  47. 

2  Syrie  Centrale:  Architecture  Civile  et  Religieuse  du  I"  au  T  Siecle.  Paris,  1865- 
1877.     2  vols.,  fol. 


Fig.  100.— St.  Demetrius,  Thessalonica.    Cross  section. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  231 

of  churches,  the  chaste  simplicity  of  their  style,  and  their  close  ad- 
herence to  the  oblong  basilica  type,  argue  a  period  of  peace  and  of 
remarkable  prosperity  of  the  Church.  Prior  to  the  ^j^^  ^jju^ch  in 
fourth  century  little  survives,  but  from  the  fourth  to  the  a  state  of  pros- 
seventh  the  Christian  architectural  monuments  are  al-  p^^^'^- 
most  innumerable,'  being  built  in  great  measure  of  materials  already 
at  hand.  "  We  are  transported,"  says  de  Vogile,  "  into  the  midst 
of  a  Christian  society.  We  are  surprised  at  its  life:  not  the  covert, 
hidden  life  of  the  catacombs,  not  an  existence  humble,  timid,  suffer- 
ing, is  here  generally  represented,  but  a  life  generous,  rich,  artistic; 
spacious  houses  built  of  brown  stone,  conveniently  arranged,  with 
galleries  and  covered  balconies;  beautiful  gardens  planted  with  the 
vine,  presses  for  making  wine,  and  stone  vats  and  casks  for  its  safe 
storage;  immense  subterranean  kitchens,  and  stables  for  the  horses; 
beautiful  squares,  surrounded  with  porticos  and  elegant  baths;  mag- 
nificent churches,  adorned  with  columns,  flanked  with  towers  and 
encircled  with  elegant  tombs."  * 

In  nearly  all  the  basilicas  of  Africa  and  Syria  there  is  a  departure 
from  the  style  of  the  West  with  respect  to  the  ceiling  xhe  vaulted 
finish  and  decoration.  Instead  of  the  open  beam-and-  ceiling. 
rafter  work  so  usual  with  Roman  basilicas,  we  find  the  semicylin- 
drical  vaulted  ceiling.  It  is  believed  that  this  peculiar  con- 
struction was  determined  by  the  character  of  the  materials  at 
hand — the  Egyptian  and  Syrian  lands  being  destitute  of  timber 
suitable  for  the  ceiling  decorations,  while  at  the  same  time  both 
stone  and  brick  were  abundant  and  cheap.  A  like  ceiling  vaulting 
is  sometimes  met  in  southern  France.  While  hewn  stone  was  sel- 
dom used  in  Italy  (brick  being  the  material  in  general  use  for  the 
purposes  of  ceiling  vaulting),  it  was  quite  common  in  Syria  and  the 
East.' 

Among  the  numerous  monuments  scattered  thus  over  Syria,  those 
of  Kherbet-Hass,  El-Barah,  and  Tourmanin  are  very  conspicuous. 
Each  comprises  a  group  of  buildings  for  religious  observances, 
including  one  or  more  churches,  chapels,  and  houses  for  meditation, 
or  convents  for  Christian  orders. 

The  group  at  Kherbet-Hass  consists  of  a  larger  and  a  smaller 
church,  both  three-naved,  with  distinct  internal  semicir- 

KtiBrbct-Hs-ss. 

cular  apse,  and  opening  upon  spacious  courts.     Besides 
these  are  found  rooms  for  the  school,  for  the   library,  for  lodging 
the  various  Church  officials,  and  a  place  of  burial  for  the  chief  eccle- 
siastics.* 

'  Op.  cit,  t.  i,  p.  7.  "^Op.  cit,  t.  i,  p.  9.         ^  Dehio  u.  Bezold:    Op.  cit.,  s.  130. 

"  De  Vogiie:    Op.  cit.,  t.  i,  p.  96;  t.  ii,  plates  59,  61. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


233 


El-Barah. 


At  El-Barah  are  three  churches  in  close  juxtaposition.  Fig. 
101  represents  this  collection  of  religious  edifices. 
The  principal  church,  with  its  adjacent  chapel,  has 
on  the  front  and  sides  spacious  courts  with  irregular  colonnades. 
Near  to  this  church  are  the  school,  the  rooms  for  the  various 
servants,  for  the  ecclesiastics,  and  for  the  library.  The  entire 
group  of  buildings  shown  in  Fig.  101  is  connected  with  this 
imposing  ecclesiastical  establishment,  and  well  illustrates  the 
flourishing  state  of  the  Syrian  churches  in  the  fourth  and  fifth 
centuries. 

The  curious  assemblage  of  buildings  at  Tourmanin  comprised  a 
church,  and  an  immense  structure  which  seems  to  have  been  an 


Fig.  102.— View  of  the  cburcti  at  Tourmanin,  Central  Syria.    Restored  from  the  ruins. 

ecclesiastical  hostelry  for  lodging  pilgrims.  The  church,  restored 
from  a  careful  study  of  the  surviving  portions  (Fig.  102),  follows 
the  general  plan  and  arrangement  of  most  Sja-ian  churches  of 
the  sixth  century.  The  facade  has  an  imposing  chai*acter,'  while 
the  disposition  of  the  lines  gives  to  it  a  picturesque  effect.  The 
careful  balancing  of  parts  resulted  in  a  building  of  great  solid- 
ity, whose  permanence  was  almost  entirely  independent  of  cement. 
The  interior  is  the  usual  oblong  basilica  of  three  naves.  The 
apse  has  the  form  of  a  regular  half-dodecagon.  The  internal 
arrangements    and    decorations    show    that    architecture    at    this 

'  V.  De  Vogiie:    Op.  cit.,  t.  i,  pp.  138-140;  plates  cxxx-cxxxvi. 


234  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

period  had  attained  a  very  high  order  of  excellence,  and  indicate 
a  very  prosperous  condition  of  the  Syrian  Church  during  the  sixth 
century. 

All  the  churches  both  at  Kherbet-Hass,  EI  Barah,  and  Tourmanin 
The  pure  ba-  ^^'^  of  the  pure  oblong  basilica  type  which  so  generally 
silica  form.  prevailed  in  Syria  and  Egypt.  As  before  said,  they 
lack  the  wood  rafter  work  in  the  ceilings,  instead  of  which  they 
employ  cut  stone  for  the  vaulting.  These  churches  varied  very 
But  vaulted  little  in  their  general  outline  and  plan,  the  architects 
ceilings.  being  content  to  introduce  variety  into  the  decorations 

and  subordinate  members.  In  the  disposition  of  the  interiors 
there  is  great  uniformity.  The  columns  are  generally  monoliths, 
with  bases  which  remind  us  of  the  classic  style,  while  the  imposed 
mass  is  directly  supported  by  the  capitals  without  the  intervention 
of  the  abacus.' 

The  grandest  monument  of  Central  Syria  are  the  church  and  con- 

r^h,  r.^h  ^  vent  of  St.  Simon  the  Stylite.  It  is  now  called  Kalat- 
Cnurcn  and  •^    _ 

monastery  of  Sem'an — the  Chateau  of  Simon.  It  is  situated  in  the 
St.  smion.  north-east  corner  of  central  Syria,  a  short  distance  north 
of  Djebel  Cheikh  Bereket.  It  was  built  in  honor  of  that  most 
singular  character,  Simon  the  Stylite,  who  died  A.  D.  459.  The 
date  of  the  church  is  somewhat  uncertain.  From  considerations 
drawn  from  the  style  of  the  decorations,  de  Vogiie  is  disposed 
to  place  its  erection  in  the  latter  half  of  the  fifth  century.^  It  was 
a  cruciform,  three-naved  basilica,  whose  three  arms  are  of  equal 
length;  the  fourth,  containing  the  apse,  being  thirty-six  feet  longer 
than  the  others.  The  arms  of  the  cross  at  their  inter- 
section form  an  octagonal  court  one  hundred  feet  in 
diameter,  which  was  open  to  the  sky.  The  longest  arm  terminated 
in  a  semicircular  apse  not  onl}^  for  the  main  but  also  for  the  side 
naves.  The  length  of  the  church  from  east  to  west  was  336  feet, 
from  north  to  south  300  feet.  The  width  of  the  main  nave  was  36 
feet,  that  of  the  side  naves  18  feet.  The  principal  entrance  was 
from  the  south  through  a  porch  of  imposing  magnificence.  This 
church,  with  its  attendant  chapels,  oratories,  and  sarcophagi,  is  a 
reminder  of  the  best  classical  period.  Although  in  treatment 
it  is  somewhat  bald  and  meagre,  the  style  of  the  capitals  is  de- 
styie  of  cap-  cidedly  original.  The  oblique  direction  given  to  the 
itais.  return  of  the  leaves  is  quite  common  to  the   Byzan- 

tine architecture.  In  this  and  other  respects  the  capitals  resem- 
ble  those   of   San   Apollinare   in   Classe,    in   Ravenna,    and   those 

'  De  Vogiie:   Op.  cit,  t.  i,  p.  9^ ;  t.  ii,  pi.  60. 

^  Syrie  Centrale :  t.  i,  pp.  141-154;  t.  ii,  plates  145-151. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  235 

employed  in  the  principal  entrance  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem.'  The  interior  decoration  of  this  and 
other  Syrian  churches  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries  cannot  be 
ascertained  with  certainty.  From  a  few  specimens  of  painted  cor- 
nice found  on  the  spot,  de  Vogtie  has,  however,  inferred 
that  the  color  was  applied  directly  to  the  stone,  and  ^  ™  °"°^' 
that  much  of  the  brilliancy  of  the  classical  buildings  might  have 
belonged  to  these  Syrian  ecclesiastical  structures.*  He  does  not 
believe  that  these  churches  were  ornamented  to  any  considerable 
extent  with  mosaics  of  gilt  and  glass.  The  smooth,  polished  faces 
of  the  stone  in  the  choir,  which  was  the  only  place  Destitute  of 
where  mosaics  could  be  used,  forbid  the  supposition  of  mosaics. 
their  employment  for  ornamentation.  Yet  the  mass  of  pieces  of 
colored  marbles,  found  in  connection  with  the  ruins  of  this  church, 
suggests  the  probability  that  the  pavement  may  have  been  wrought 
out  in  beautiful  mosaic  patterns. 

Section  III. 
THE   CENTRAL  OR  DOMED   STYLE. 

Contemporary  with  the  oblong,  naved,  rectangular  basilica  was  an- 
other style  of  Christian  architecture,  the  so-called  central  or  domed 
structure.  This  was  not  unfrequent  in  the  West,  but  in  few  if  any 
instances  does  it  seem  to  have  been  used  in  buildings  originally  de- 
signed for  Christian  churches.  It  was  rather  limited  to  those  struc- 
tures of  pagan  origin  which  were  appropriated  to  Christian  uses,  or 
to  buildings  subordinate  to  the  main  church  edifice,  as  Not  powerful 
burial  or  memorial  chapels,  baptisteries,^  etc.  Hence  in  the  west. 
in  the  Occident  it  seemed  to  be  wanting  in  power  of  growth 
and  development;  it  had  at  best  a  feeble,  sickly  life,  and  the  me- 
diaeval architecture  received  from  it  but  a  scantj^  inheritance.  In 
the  Orient  it  was  far  otherwise.  Here  the  church  adopted  and 
fashioned  it  to  satisfy  its  own  peculiar  wants.  One  type  j^^  peculiar 
appeared  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepixlchre  at  home  in  the 
Jerusalem,  and  another,  after  a  rapid  and  brilliant  de-  *^"™*- 
velopment,  attained  its  goal  and  highest  perfection  in  St.  Sophia  of 
Constantinople.''  From  the  so-called  Byzantine  architecture  was 
probably  derived  the  constructive  principle  which  enabled  the  me- 

'  De  Vogiie:    Op.  cit,  t.  i,  pp.  150,  151. 
•■'Id.,  t.  i,  p.  152,  plate  151. 

^Schuaase:   Gesch.  d.  hildend.  Kiinste,  iii,  48;  Dehio  u.  Bezold,  i,  20,  21. 
''Dehio  und  Bezold:  Die  MrcJdiche  Baukunst  des  Abendlandes,  Stuttgart,  1884,  Ite 
Lief.,  8.  23. 


236  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

diaeval  architects  to  transform  the  flat  ceiling  of  the  basilica  into 
the  vaulted,  and  ultimately  into  the  beautiful,  soaring,  jjointed 
style  of  the  Gothic  cathedral.' 

§  1.    Origin  of  the  Domed  Structure. 

The  origin  of  the  domed  principle  in  architecture  is  even  more 
Its  origin  ob-  obscure  than  that  of  the  oblong  rectangular  basilica, 
scure.  While  the  Etruscans  were  familiar  with  the  vaulted  roof, 

as  this  was  applied  to  the  cloacae  and  aqueducts,  they  have  left  no 
works  of  marked  architectural  character  which  lead  us  to  believe  that 
they  are  the  originators  of  the  dome  structure  as  it  was  found  in  the 
West  just  prior  to  the  Advent.  It  is  very  remarkable  that  the  most 
beautiful  and  complete  dome  of  the  world  is  the  Pantheon  of  Rome, 
a  sort  of  architectural  Melchizedek,  without  father  or  mother,  and 
also  wanting,  so  far  as  can  be  determined,  the  long  antecedent 
process  of  development  which  such  perfection  presupposes.  It 
is  likewise  curious  that  the  oblong  basilica  is  the  most  persistent 
form  for  the  Christian  church  in  many  parts  of  the  Orient,  which  has 
usually  been  accounted  the  native  land  of  the  so  called  Byzantine 
architecture. 

Of  the  churches  of  central  Syria,  described  by  de  Vogiie,  only  two 
of  importance  are  of  the  domical  form,  and  these  from  the  sixth 
century.''     It  is  claimed  that  they  were  constructed  on  an  entirely 

difl^erent  principle  from  that  governing  in  St.  Sophia, 
from  St.  So-  They  were  compact  and  unified;  their  parts  were  mem- 
P^'^"  bers  of  a  living  organism.     Each  was  firmly  bound  to 

the  other,  each  was  the  natural  and  necessary  complement  of  all.  St. 
Sophia,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a  vast  concretion  of  brick  and  mor- 
tar, and  of  rough  blocks  of  stone,  distributed  into  arches,  vaulted 
surfaces,  cupolas,  and  hemicupolas,  whose  expansions,  resting  upon 
fixed  points,  and  balancing  one  part  against  the  other,  were  brought 

into  a  condition  of  perfect  equilibrium.  The  principle 
Roman  baptis-  of  construction  was  not  different  from  that  in  the  Ro- 
^^^'  man   baptistery,  developed,  enlarged,   and  made  more 

light  and  soaring  through  the  boldness  of  two  men  of  eminent  genius, 

'  We  believe,  therefore,  that  the  conckiding  paragraph  of  the  statement  of 
Professor  G.  Baldwin  Brown,  From  Schola  to  Cathedral,  1886,  p.  143,  needs  important 
qualification :  "  Rome  possessed  a  world-famed  cupola  several  centuries  before  the 
first  Byzantine  dome,  and  during  those  centuries  dome  construction  had  advanced 
on  parallel  lines  in  the  West  and  in  the  East,  so  that  the  Middle  Ages  inherited  in  the 
West  as  genuine  a  tradition  in  regard  to  the  cupola  as  any  which  flourished  in  the 
East." 

*De  Vogiie:  Syrie  Centrale  Architecture  civile  et religieuse,  plates  21,  23. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


237 


both  of  whom  were  Greeks.  Their  work,  too,  was  Greek  in  the 
sense  that  it  was  the  i-esult  of  the  application  of  the  logical  spirit  of 
the  Greek  school  to  a  new  and  foreign  principle,  which  became 
most  fruitful  of  results.  These  two  artists  originated  a  style 
which  completely  supplanted  the  preceding  in  all  the  countries 
which  were  afterward  submissive  to  Byzantine  rule.  Yet  essentially 
The  opportunity  it  furnished  for  the  employment  Greek. 
of  mediocre  workmen,  and  for  utilizing  the  cruder  materials,  as 
brick  and  lime,  as  well  as  the  gradual  introduction  of  Oriental 
tastes,  assured  its  success.  It  characterized  the  Byzantine  period, 
properly  so  called,  and  was  the  last  evolution  of  Greek  art,  destined 
in  turn  to  be  absorbed  in  the  Saracenic' 

Whether  the  central  architecture  of  the  West  was  an  indigenous 
product,  or  was  the  result  of  Greek  influence  whose  monumental  ex- 
pression has  perished,  or  whether  both  the  Roman  and  the  so-called 
Byzantine  were  alike  the  revival  of  an  old  eastern  type  which 
had  fallen  into  partial  decay,"  it  may  not  be  possible  to  affirm. 
The  subject  is  beset  with  pe- 
culiar difficulties,  and  awaits 
more  thorough  investigation. 
It  is,  however,  evident  that 
the  Christian  baptisteries  and 
burial  chapels  have  a  strong 
resemblance  to  the  contempo- 
rary pagan  baths  and  mortu- 
ary monuments.'  An  interest- 
ing example  of  this  is  found  in 
a  portion  of  the  baths  of  Dio- 
cletian (Fig.  103).  This  was 
converted,  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, into  the  church  San  Bar- 
nardino  de'  Termini,  The 
semicircular  niches  were  per- 
petuated in  the  Christian 
structure.  The  more  promi- 
nent features  of  this  building 
Central  style. 

The  description  of  circular  temples  by  Vitruvius  would  imply 
their  prevalence  in  his  day.  In  a  few  Christian  mosaics,  both  in 
Rome  and  Ravenna,  the  domical  form  appears  in  connection  with 

'  De  Yogiie  :  Op.  cit.,  vol.  i,  pp.  17,  ]8. 
'  The  Sassanid  domes  of  Persian  palaces. 
^  Rosengarteii :  Architectural  Styles,  p.  172. 


Fig. 


103.— Baths  of  Diocletian,  San  Barnardino. 
Grouudplan. 


recur  from   time   to   time  in   the 


238  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

more  imposing  structures  which  are  believed  to  represent  the  build- 
ings for  Christian  assembly,  while  in  Christian  literature  are  found 
quite  detailed  accounts  of  noted  churches  that  have  entirely  disap- 
centrai  build-  peared.  Of  these  the  circular  domed  building  erected 
'T^  T'  n°^'  ^y  Constantine  in  the  early  part  of  the  fourth  century 
time.  over  the  traditional  site  of  the  holy  sepulchre  at  Jerusa- 

lem/ and  the  magnificent  church  at  Antioch  which  Eusebius  has 
described  at  length,  were  among  the  most  notable  and  influential. 
He  says:  "At  Antioch,  the  capital  of  the  Orient,  he  (Constantine) 
built  a  thoroughly  characteristic  church.  He  enclosed  the  whole  by 
a  peribolos,  within  which  he  built  an  oratory  of  unprecedented 
height.  It  was  of  octagonal  form.  To  the  exterior  round  about  he 
added  many  chapels  and  exedra,  as  well  as  crypts  and  galleries.  The 
entire  work  was  comj^leted  by  ornamentation  in  gold  as  well  as  in 
ivory  and  other  costly  materials."^  The  relation  of  this  and  similar 
structures  to  the  development  of  church  architecture  at  Ravenna 
and  other  centers  is  most  intimate.  It  becomes  of  great  value  in 
interpi'eting  the  f  onus  met  in  the  churches  of  San  Vitale  in  Ravenna, 
San  Marco  in  Venice,  SS.  Sergius  et  Bacchus  in  Constantinople,  etc' 
The  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  served  as  a  model  for  burial 

.  ,  chapels,  while  that  of  Antioch  was  a  model  for  build- 

importance  ot    ^      ^      ^ 

the  Church  of  ings  for  congregational  assembly.  The  great  import- 
Antioch.  ance  of  the  latter  in  Christian  architecture  arises  from 

the  circumstance  that  its  chief  features  were  copied  into  other 
structures,  both  East  and  West,  and  gave  an  impetus  to  (if  it  was 
not  the  genesis  of)  the  style  afterward  characterized  by  the  name 
Byzantine. 

§  2.    Classification. 

Different  principles  of  classification  of  these  buildings  have  been 
Principles  of  pi'oposed  by  writers  on  the  history  of  architecture, 
ciassiflcation.  The  adoption  of  the  simple  rotunda  as  the  normal  form, 
and  the  development  of  the  central  construction  from  this  norm,  has 
much  to  recommend  it.*  According  to  this  view,  the  first  step  in 
the  development  was  the  addition  of  members  in  the  form  of  niches 
Addition  of  "^  the  enclosing  walls.  Both  artistically  as  well  as  con- 
niches,  structively  this  was  of  importance.  The  bounding  of  a 
space  within  narrowest  possible  limits,  as  well  as  the  securing  of 
better  architectural  effects,  would  thus  result.  For  the  most  part 
the  number  of  these  niches  does  not  exceed  eight,  being  all  of  the 

■Eusebius:  De  Vita  Const,  iii,  31. 

2  Vita  Const.,  lib.  iii,  cap.  50. 

'Quast:  Die  Altchristlichen  Bauwerke  von  Ravenna,  ss.  30,  31. 

^  V.  Deliio  uud  Bezold:  Die  kirchliche  Baukunst  des  Abendlandes,  i,  ss.  19,^. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE.  239 

same  form  or  having  alternating  rectangular  and  semicircular  niches.' 
Sometimes  these  simple  rotunda  interiors  were  further  enriched  by 
columns  placed  in  the  niches,  which  also  served  a  useful  construc- 
tive purpose  {v.  Fig.  112).  A  further  development  is  noticed  in 
the  attempts  at  enlargement  of  these  circular  buildings,  by  breaking 
through  the  walls  of  the  niches,  thus  securing  a  series  of  attached 
rooms  by  means  of  an  outward  enclosing  wall.  This  occurs  in 
Figs.  112  and  116.  It  is  believed  that  this  change  was  first  intro- 
duced into  the  churches  from  liturgical  rather  than  artistic  consider- 
ations— especially  to  secure  more  privacy  for  the  high  altar — but 
by  continuous  modifications  it  became  the  occasion  of  developing 
some  of  the  most  beautiful  and  imposing  architectural  effects. 

A  fourth  type  of  the  circular  church  architecture  is  that  in  which 
the  domical  portion,  supported  by  columns,  is  surrounded  The  addition  of 
by  a  corridor  of  lesser  height  than  the  central  structure.  ^  corridor. 
This  has  sometimes,  without  sufficient  reason,  been  characterized  as 
an  application  of  the  basilica  principle  to  the  central  style — hence 
called  the  circular  basilica — and  has  been  claimed  to  be  the  most 
distinctive  and  original  product  of  the  early  Christian  Church. 
The  claim  seems,  howevei',  to  lack  firm  support,  since  some  of  its 
features  manifestly  find  many  suggestions  in  pagan  architecture, 
while  it  is  difficult  on  this  theory  to  account  for  its  somewhat  lim- 
ited dissemination,  and  for  the  fact  that  the  oldest  examples  of  this 
type  of  buildings  are  the  most  striking,  thus  indicating  a  retrogra- 
dation  rather  than  a  real  development.^ 

Under  the  class  of  the  centi'al  or  domical  architecture  some  writ- 
ers reckon  the  cruciform  buildings,  whether  with  equal  cruciform 
arms,  or,  by  the  lengthening  of  the  main  axis,  in  the  structures. 
form  of  the  Latin  cross.  While  this  form  was  more  usually  found 
in  burial  chapels,  it  was  also  incorporated  into  other  and  more  im- 
posing buildings.^ 

The  Simple  Rotunda. 

Of  the  simple  rotunda  form  but  few  examples  survive.  These  are 
chiefly  of  baptisteries  attached  to  churches.  A  plain  hexa-  Examples  of 
gonal  building  of  this  kind  is  the  baptistery  of  the  ba-  simple  rotunda, 
silica  in  the  Colli  di  Sto  Stefano  in  Tivoli;  another  is  the  octag- 
onal baptistery  of  the  cathedral  of  Parenzo.*  A  few  chapels  in 
the  catacombs  approach  this  simple  outline.^ 

1  For  examples  of  uniform  semicircular  niches,  see  Fig.  103;  for  uniformly  rectan- 
gular niches,  see  Fig.  105:  and  for  rectangular  alternating  with  the  circular  niche, 
see  Fig.  104.  «  Dehio  und  Bezold:    Op.  cit.,  ss.  31,  32.  ^  jdem,  ss.  43,  44. 

"■  Dehio  und  Bezold:    Op.  cit,  Ite  Lief.,  s.  24,  t.  1,  Fig.  10,  and  t.  16,  Fig.  2. 

*  Hiibsch:    Op.  cit.,  t.  i,  Fig.  6.     Peret:  Les  Catacombes  de  Rome,  pp.  36,  39, 


240 


ARCHAEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 


With  Niches  and  Columns. 
Most  of  the  circular  domical  forms  add,  however,  the  niches  and 
columns,  and  thus  pass  to  the  second  stage  of  development.  To 
this  general  class  may  be  referred  some  of  the  most  interesting 
Christian  architectural  monuments  of  the  first  six  centuries.  The 
prominent  features  of  the  class  are  likewise  met  in  the  ^^  slavish  imi- 
pagan  monuments ;  but  to  claim  that  the  Christian  tation  of  hea- 
were  only  a  copy  or  slavish  imitation  of  the  heathen  ^en  buildings, 
structures  were  unhistorical  and  misleading.  While  it  is  evident 
that  the  Christian  baptisteries  and  burial  monuments  found  sugges- 
tions in  the  baths  and  sepulchral  monuments  of  the  classical  world, 
with  respect  to  this  as  to  other  branches  of  art  the  spirit  of  the 
new  religion  often  modified,  transformed,  and  adjusted  them  to  the 
needs  of  the  Church. 

Fig.  104  is  the  groundplan  of  the  so-called  Temple  of  Romulus, 

son  of  Maxentius,  found  on 
the  Via  Appia,*  Rome. 
Here  are  found  the  cir- 
cular enclosing  wall,  the 
niches  alternately  rectan- 
gular and  semicircular,  the 
portico  enclosing  the  area 
in  front,  etc.,  most  of  which 
elements  were  continued 
in  buildings  of  Christian 
origin. 

Prominent     among     the 
Christian  mon-    san    Giovanni 
uments  of  this   in  Fonte. 
class    is  the   baptister}'-  of 
the  Ecclesia  Ursiana,  in  Ra- 
venna,  now   known    under 
the  name  of  San  Giovanni 
in  Fonte.      It  is  an  octago- 
nal   building,   having    two 
entrances  and  four  niches 
or  tribunes.     The  whole  is 
covered  by  a  somewhat  flat- 
tened dome.     The  interior  construction  and  decoration  are  note- 
worthy.     The  harmonious   arrangement  of  the  columns,  and  the 
spanning  of  larger  by  smaller  arches,  as  appears  in  the  second  story 
'  Canina:    Via  Appia,  tav.  x,  pp.  77,  78. 


mm 

mm 

mm 

mm 

mmmmmm 

Fig.  104.— Temple  of  Romulus,  Via  Appia,  Rome. 
Groundplan. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE.  241 

of  the  exterior,  and  in  the  arrangement  for  the  support  of  the  dome 
in  the  second  story  of  the  interior,  seem  like  a  prophecy  of  the 
Gothic  architecture;  while  the  form  of  the  capitals  and  many  minor 
details  clearly  point  backward  to  an  earlier  age  of  Greek  art/  It 
has  two  stories.  The  lower  part  is  formed  by  eight  pilasters  in  the 
angles,  which  are  connected  by  semicircular  arches.  The  walls  are 
lined  with  slabs  of  porphyry  and  different  colored  marbles. 

Another  notable  monument  of  this  type  is  Santa  Maria  Rotonda,'' 
in  Ravenna,  called  also  the  mausoleum  of  Theodoric.  ganta  Maria 
It  differs  from  other  churches  of  Ravenna  in  being  built  Rotonda. 
of  hewn  stone  instead  of  brick.  The  dome  is  thirty-three  feet  in 
diameter,  consisting  of  a  single  stone  of  more  than  forty-five  hun- 
dred tons  weight.^  It  must  have  been  brought  from  a  gi'eat  dis- 
tance  by  water.''  It  is  a  work  of  high  art,  and  the  elevation  to  its 
place  is  a  good  proof  of  the  excellent  engineering  of  that  age.*  The 
church  is  a  decagon  of  two  stories.  One  half  of  the  lower  part  is 
now  under  water.     Each  side  of  the  exterior  is  relieved 

XbG  intGrior 

by  a  niche  produced  by  a  round  arch  that  spans  the  in- 
termediate space.  The  arches  are  built  of  dentated  stone,  which 
is  first  met  in  the  later  Roman  architecture,  but  afterward  became 
a  prominent  feature  of  the  Byzantine  and  Arabian  art.  This  church 
has  given  rise  to  much  speculation  upon  the  influ-  Exceptional  ar- 
ences  under  which  it  was  built.  In  its  chief  members  chitecturai  eie- 
thei'e  is  not  a  trace  of  the  Byzantine  style;  in  its  de-  ^^^^''■ 
tails  this  sometimes  appears;  while  in  some  features  it  reveals  a 
decidedly  Gothic  impress.  As  a  whole,  it  seems  to  stand  as  a 
prophecy  and  suggestion  of  the  style  which  rose  in  such  glory  and 
grandeur  five  hundred  years  later.* 

In  this  class  must  also  be  reckoned  the  Church  of  St.  George  of 
Thessalonica,'  the  modern  Salonika.     The  date  of  its  gt.  George  of 
erection  has  been  elsewhere  discussed  {v.  p.  116).     It  is  Thessaionica. 
a  brick  structure  of  more  than  seventy  feet  in  diameter,  having 

'  Quast :  Op.  cit,  ss.  4,  5 ;  taf.  i.  Dehio  u.  Bezold :  Die  kirchliche  Baukunst  des 
Abendlandes,  Ite  Lief.,  s.  25;  t.  3,  Pig.  9,  10;  taf.  37. 

^  Quast:  Op.  cit..  s.  5;  t,  i,  Figs.  2,  3,  4.  Kugler:  Geschichte  der  Baukunst,  Bd.  i, 
8.  396.     Dehio  und  Bezold:    Op.  cit.,  Ite  Lief,  s.  25;  t.  3,  Figs.  7,  8;  t.  37. 

^  Quast:  Op.  cit.,  ss.  24-26;  t.  vii,  Figs.  17-28.  D'Agincourt:  Architecture,  pp. 
xviii  and  xx.\ii.  Deliio  u.  Bezold :  Op.  cit.,  s.  25 ;  t.  3,  Figs.  9,  10.  Rahn :  Ravenna, 
8S.  38,  sq. 

*  Quast :   Op.  cit,  s.  24,  claims  that  it  was  brought  from  Istria. 

*  Kugler:   Op.  cit.,  Bd.  i,  s.  398.     H.  Gaily  Knight:    Op.  cit,  t.  viil. 

*  Quast :   Op.  cit.,  s.  25. 

■•  Kugler:  Geschichte  der  Baukunst,  Bd.  i,  s.  432.  Texier  and  PuUan:  6glises  By- 
zantines, plates  xxxi-xxxiv.     Unger:  In  Ersch  u.  Gruler's  Encyclopcedia,  taf.  Ixxxiv 


242 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF    CHRISTIAN  ART. 


eight  rectangular,  chapel-like    niches  in 


the  wall.  The  enclosing 
wall  is  nearly  twenty 
feet  thick,  but  in  the 
niches  it  is  reduced  by 
the  extent  of  their 
depth.  One  of  the  niches 
opens  into  the  extended 
tribune,  while  another 
is  used  for  entrance  to 
the  church  (see  Fig.  105). 
About  the  middle  of  the 
perpendicular  height  the 
wall  is  set  back,  giv- 
ing the  impression  to 
the  visitor  that  a  cor- 
ridor is  thus  secured  on 
the  interior  [v.  Fig.  106). 
In  outline  it  has  a  very 
striking  resemblance  to 
the  Roman  Pantheon. 
Its  rich  and  instructive 
mosaics  are  elsewhere 
described  (v.  pp.  116, 
117).  Like  most  sur- 
viving churches  of  the 


Fig.  105.— Groundplan  of  St.  George,  Thessalonica. 
East,  it  has  been  converted  into  a  Mohammedan  mosque 


Fig.  106.— St.  George,  Thessalonica.    Exterior  view. 

In  passing  from  the  simple  rotunda,  with  rectangular  and  semi- 
circular niches,   to  that  further  expansion  of  the  central  style   in 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


243 


which  by  a  more  widely  extended  enclosing  wall  an  added  space 
was  secured,  and  a  more  complex  construction  and  artistic  Third  stage  of 
arrangement  resulted,  we  are  brought  to  the  examina-  development. 
tion  of  some  of  the  most  impressive  and  significant  churches  of  the 
first  seven  centuries.  Among  these  San  Vitale  of  Ravenna,  and  SS. 
Sergius  et  Bacchus  and  St.  Sophia  (Hagia  Sofia)  of  Constantinople, 
are  unrivalled.  They  are  nearly  contemporaneous,  belonging  to 
the  reign  of  Justinian,  in  the  first  half  of  the  sixth  century. 


San  Vltale. 


Fig.  107.— San  Vitale,  Ravenna.    Interior  view. 


San  Vitale  was  begun  in  A.  D.  526,  and  dedicated  in  A.  D.  547. 
It  is  an  octagonal  building  about  one  hundred  and  two 
feet  in  diameter,  with  a  tribune  trilateral  on  the  exte- 
rior, but  semicircular  on  the  interior.  The  second  story  forms  an 
arcade  supported  by  pillars  and  pilasters  below  (v.  Fig.  107);  above 
the  pilasters  and  the  arches  resting  upon  them  the  dome  rose  to  the 
height  of  nearly  eighty  feet.  Some  writers  have  held  that  San 
Vitale,  and  San  Marco  at  Venice  as  well,  are  merety  di-  Not  a  copy  of 
minutive  imitations  of  St.  Sophia  at  Constantinople;  but  San  Marco, 
the  resemblances  between  San  Vitale  and  San  Marco  are  not  such 


244 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 


as  to  justify  their  reference  to  a  common  model.  In  groundplan,  in- 
terior arrangement,  and  roof  construction  they  differ  very  widely. 
San  Vitale  is  octagonal  and  two-storied;  San  Marco  is  in  the  form  of 
the  Greek  cross  and  without  galleries.  San  Vitale  groups  the  cen- 
tral spaces  into  one  which  is  covered  by  a  central  dome,  rising  high 
above  the  other  parts  of  the  structure;  San  Marco,  on  the  contrary, 
has  five  depressed  domes,  above  each  arm  of  the  cross,  and  over 
the  central  space  where  the  two  arms  intersect. 

On  careful  study  the  diversities  between  St.  Sophia  and  San  Vitale 
will  also  appear  so  great   as  to  set  aside   the   theory   jjor  of  st.  so- 
that  the  one  was  the  model  or  the  copy  of  the  other,   P^a. 
Their   relation   is   only   that  of   the   three   most   noted   surviving 
examples  of  the  architecture  of  the  first  half  of  the  sixth  century.' 

The  long-extended  vestibule,  C, 
(Narthex  or  Ardica),  of  San  Vi- 
tale is  peculiar  to  irregularity  of 
this  church  (Fig.  groundplan. 
108).  It  is  not  placed  opposite 
or  perpendicular  to  the  axis  of 
the  tribune,  as  is  usual  in  other 
churches,  but  makes  a  wide  de- 
parture fi'om  the  regularity  of 
groundplan  which  might  be  ex- 
pected. Many  conjectures  as 
to  the  reason  of  this  have  been 
made,  but  the  real  cause  is  un- 
known. The  exterior  of  the 
church  is  like  many  other  build- 
ings of  Ravenna,  of  brick  with 
thick  layers  of  mortar.  Most 
of  the  mosaics,  which  formerly 
made  it  one  of  the  most  brilliant  in  Christendom,  have 
unfortunately  disappeared;  yet  the  descriptions  given 
by  the  historians  are  so  full  that  their  artistic  and  dogmatic  signifi- 
cance can  be  easily  determined. 

The  form  of  the  arches  supporting  the  dome,  as  well  as  the  col- 
umnar arrangement  of  the  second  story,  may  be  seen  from  the 
section  given  in  Fig,  109.  Likewise  the  style  of  the  capitals,  and 
the  rich  statuary,  arabesque,  and  mosaic  effects,  in  pavement  and 
ceiling,  making  the  interior  of  this  church  exceptionally  impressive, 

1  Quast :  Op.  cit,  s.  29.  Compare  Fig.  108,  groundplan  of  San  Vitale,  with  Fig. 
116,  groundplan  of  St.  Sophia;  the  section  of  San  Vitale,  Fig.  109,  with  that  of  St. 
Sophia,  Fig.  117. 


Fig.  108.— San  Vitale.    Groundplan. 


Mosaics  lost. 


246 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 


are  well  shown  in  Figs.  107,  109.  The  contrast  between  this  church 
Contrast  with  ^^^^  *^^  Roman  basilica,  with  its  columns  of  varied  styles, 
Roman  basil-  lengths,  and  diameters,  is  very  marked.  "Instead  of 
'^'  simple,  long-extended  right  lines,  here  is  found  an  artis- 

tic combination  of  numerous  curves,  which,  while  departing  from 
different  centers,  nevertheless  complement  each  other  and  find  in 
the  dome  the  completest  centralization.  ...  In  all  this  labyrinthian 
arrangement  a  most  magnificent  effect  from  this  development  of 
forms  cannot  be  denied." '  The  church  was  begun  under  the  East 
Not  strictly  Gothic  supremac}^,  and  finished  under  Byzantine;  it  is, 
Byzantine.  therefore,  generally  classified  under  the  head  of  Bj^zan- 
tine  architecture.  The  propriety  of  such  classification  may,  how- 
ever, be  reasonably  questioned,  since  neither  in  groundplan  nor 
elevation,  but  only  in  decorative  features,  does  it  seem  to  be 
accordant  with  the  Byzantine  style."      The  beauty  of   the  deco- 


Fig.  110.— Capital  from  San 
Vitale,  Ravenna. 


Fig.  111.— Capital  from  St.  Sophia, 
Constantinople. 


ration  of  the  churches  as  well  as  their  likeness  in  details  may  be 
seen  by  comparing  the  capitals  of  columns  from  each  (v.  Figs.  110 
and  111). 

Nearly  contemporary  with  San  Vitale  is  SS.  Sergius  et  Bacchus 
ss.  Sergius  et  (Hagios  Sergios)  of  Constantinople.'  Here,  too,  the 
Bacchus.  dome  rests  upon  eight  immense  buttresses  connected 

together  in  the  lower  story  by  a  richly  sculptured  entablature,  and 
in  the  second  by  arches.  At  the  four  corners  are  semicircular 
niches   (in  which  are  supporting   columns)    that   lead   into  rooms 

'  Schnaase:   Geschichte  der  Bildende  Kiinste,  Ite  aufl.,  Bd.  iii,  ss.  131,  132. 

^  Stock bauer:  Der  christliche  Kirchenbau,  s.  89. 

3  Dehio  u.  Bezold :  Op.  cit,  Ite  Lief.,  ss.  28,  29,  taf.  4,  Figs.  5,  6.  Stockbauer  •. 
Op.  cit,  s.  90.  Kugler:  Op.  cit,  Bd.  i,  ss.  420-422.  Salzenberg:  Alt-christliche 
Baudenkmale  v,  Constantinople. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE. 


247 


bounded  by  the  exterior  wall  {v.  Fig.  112),  which  is  quadrangular 
instead  of  octagonal,  as  in  San  Vitale.  Upon  the  interior  face 
of  the  entablature,  extending 
around  the  entire  nave,  is 
a  fulsome  inscription  to  Jus- 
tinian, and  to  the  martyrs  Ser- 
gius  and  Bacchus,  who  were 
in  high  repute  among  the  Dar- 
danians  and  Illyrians.  In  the 
arrangement  of  the  ground- 
plan   and    of    the 

stronger    ten-    ^ 

dency   to   tbe  vaulted   spaces, 
Byzantine.         ^j^^  characteristic 

development  of  the  Byzantine 

school  is  already  noticed;  but 

on    careful    study    of   details 

antique   elements    are    found 

to  predominate,  so  that  this 

church  must  be  regarded  as 

belonging    to   the    transition 

period  of  architecture  in  the  Greek  Empire.^ 

This  form  of  the  Christian  church  does  not  differ  very  widely 
from  some  pagan  buildings.  Fig.  113  is 
the  representation  of  a  hall  in  an  ancient 
Roman  palace.  Here,  too,  the  alternation 
in  the  interior  of  the  rectangular  with  the 
semicircular  niche,  and  the  enclosure  of  the 
whole  by  a  strong  rectangular  wall,  are  so 
^^^^  ^^^^^  nearly  like  the  arrangement  of  SS.  Sergius 
Fig.  ii3.-Haii  in  ancient  et  Bacchus  as  to  Suggest  the  same  general 

Roman  palace.    To  compare    g^ylg  ' 
with  SS.  Sergius  and  Bacchus.    ""  ^ 


Fig.  112.— SS.  Sergius  and  Bacchus,  Constantinople. 
Groundplan. 


§  3.  Byzantine  Architecture. 

The  removal  of  the  capital  of  the  Roman  Empire  to  Byzantium 

must  be  accounted  among  the  epoch-making  events  of  history.     All 

the   secret  motives   influencing   Constantine  to  this  decision  may 

not  be  known:   some   are,   however,    well    understood. 
Reasons  of  re-  ^,    .     .  ,       •  ti       i     j    r       a   u 

movaiof  capi-  Heathen  and   Christian  prophecies  alike  had  foretold 

ta'-  the  approaching  downfall  of  Rome;  the  Trojan  coasts 

were    the   fabled   native   home   of    the    Roman    people;    only   by 

'  Salzenbersj:   Text,  ss.  41-45,  Blatt  v.     Op.  dt,  Te.xt,  ss.  43,  45. 
"  Stockbauer:  Der  christlichen  Kirchenbau,  s.  90. 


248  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

residence  in  the  East  could  the  complete  overthrow  of  his  rival, 
Licinius,  be  effected.  The  beauty  of  the  situation  of  Bj'zantium 
was  proverbial,  and  its  military  and  strategical  irajjortance  man- 
ifest. In  the  East  were  the  sacred  seats,  the  holiest  traditions,  the 
ablest  defenders,  and  the  i-ichest  doctrinal  development  of  the  new  re- 
ligion which  he  had  befriended.  The  Oriental  luxury  and  magnifi- 
cence were  to  him  most  agreeable,  and  the  absolutism  of  the  East, 
unchecked  even  by  the  feeble  apology  for  a  Roman  senate,  com- 
ported best  with  Constantine's  imperious  nature.  The  principle  of 
centralization  was  the  kernel  and  essence  of  his  empire.  He  would 
establish  a  new  court  in  a  place  free  from  hoary  traditions  and  un- 
polluted by  the  crimes  of  a  thousand  years  of  bitter 
struggle.  The  strange  commingling  of  Christian  and 
heathen  elements  in  the  new  capital  was  only  the  visible  symbol  of 
the  religious  belief  and  character  of  its  great  founder.  Pagan  at 
heart,  and  little  acquainted  with  the  central  truth  of  the  Christian 
system,  he  nevertheless  saw  in  it  the  promise  of  perpetuity.  In  the 
center  of  the  forum  was  set  up  the  noted  porphyry  column,  crowned 
with  the  statue  of  the  all-conquering  Phidian  Apollo,  and  around  it 
were  clustered  the  gods  of  paganism.  Here,  too,  was  seen  the  statue 
of  the  goddess  of  fortune,  on  whose  head  was  placed  the  cross 
of  Christ,  and  at  whose  dedication  the  people  sang  the  Kyrie  Elei- 
son.  Opposite  to  this,  the  double  statue  of  the  emperor  and  his 
mother  Helena  bore  a  cross  with  the  inscription,  "  One  is  holy,  one 
is  the  Lord  Christ,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father: "  but  in  the 
middle  of  the  cross,  amidst  forms  of  incantation,  was  again  affixed 
the  image  of  Fortune.  To  her,  to  Rhea,  mother  of  the  gods,  to 
Castor  and  Pollux,  temples  were  erected,  as  well  as  Christian 
churches  in  great  number  and  magnificence.  The  art  treasures  of 
the  world  were  collected  to  adorn  the  public  squares  and  buildings, 
thus  making  Constantinople  at  the  same  time  a  rich  museum  of 
ancient,  and  a  cradle  of  Christian,  art.* 

The  western  mind  was  mostl}'"  occupied  with  the  consideration  of 
Contrast  of  pi'actical  questions  of  life.  The  customs  and  morals  of 
East  and  West,  the  people  were  considered;  the  forces  that  measured 
and  controlled  these  were  carefully  estimated.  The  Oriental  mind, 
on  the  contrary,  was  occupied  with  questions  of  dogma  and  abstract 
speculation.  It  did  not  aim  so  much  to  elevate  the  masses  of  the 
people;  rather  by  mingling  the  mysteries  of  religion  with  the 
everyday  affairs  of  life  it  educated  the  populace  to  the  grossest 

'  Carriere :  Die  Kunst  im  Zusammenhang  der  Culturentivickelung  und  die  Ideale  der 
J/e7isc7Jiez7,  Bd.  iii,  ss.  113,  114.  Gibbon:  Decline  and  Fall,  eh&^. -^vW.  Salzenberg: 
Alt-christliche  Baudenkmale  von  Constantinople,  ss.  1-10. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  249 

superstition.  The  strong  common  sense  Socratic  philosophy,  which 
had  recognized  the  dignity  and  the  responsibitity  of  the  indi- 
vidual, had  been  largely  supplanted  by  the  system  of  Neo-Platon- 
ism,  in  which  the  unity  of  the  universe  more  than  the  freedom  and 
selfhood  of  the  individual  was  made  prominent.  A  little  later  the 
spirit  of  Orientalism,  w^hich  had  more  or  less  affected  the  entire 
Roman  world,  became  dominant  in  the  Byzantine  Empire. 

With  the  absolutism  of  imperial  power  necessarily  resulted  the 
decline  of  individual  rights.  The  idea  of  personal  free- 
dom, and  the  worth  of  man  as  man,  which  was  a  ruling 
element  among  the  Teutonic  peoples,  wellnigh  died  out.  Banish- 
ments, imprisonments,  tortures,  and  death  were  inflicted  at  the  mere 
caprice  of  the  sovereign.  Hence  all  tended  toward  stagnation  and 
death.  After  a  sleep  of  a  thousand  years  the  Orient  remained  cold 
and  lifeless,  while  the  West  had  been  heaving  with  the  throes  of  a 
new  and  progressive  life. 

This  dark  picture  of  the  Byzantine  Empire  is,  however,  relieved 
by  a  few  bright  lights.  Her  good  oflices  to  the  world  y^iyj^^jig 
were  neither  few  nor  unimportant.  She  preserved  the  vices  to  civu- 
thought  of  unity  in  government,  which  exerted  a  strong  ^^^^°^- 
and  salutary  influence  upon  the  susceptible  German  peoples,  and 
gave  to  them  the  true  idea  of  nationality.  Through  her  best 
ruler,  Justinian,  she  bequeathed  to  the  world  the  body  of  codified 
law  which  has  powerfully  influenced  the  jurisprudence  of  Europe 
even  to  the  present  hour.  Through  all  the  centuries  of  her 
insensibility  and  sloth  Constantinople  was  the  museum  where 
were  collected  and  preserved  to  later  times  most  precious  treasures 
of  ancient  art  and  literature,  which  the  crusades  were  to  diffuse 
throughout  the  West  to  enkindle  a  new  life  and  stimulate  to  higher 
endeavor. 

But  the  decadence  of  morals  and  of  art  was  already  so  great 
that  the  attempts  of  Constantine  to  found  schools  for  the  educa- 
tion of  skilled  architects  proved  only  partially  successful.  Decay  of  art 
From  this  time  Christian  art  in  the  Orient  came  under  originality, 
the  control  and  guidance  of  an  imperialism  in  state  and  Church,  and 
crystallized  into  a  fixedness  of  type  that  has  been  perpetuated  to  the 
present  day.  A  pomp  and  stateliness,  a  splendor  and  even  gaudiness 
in  art,  were  only  the  reflex  of  a  like  character  in  the  imperial  state. 
Religion  was  no  longer  a  matter  of  conscience  and  of  the  inner  life 
of  the  individual,  but  of  state  authority  and  dictation.  The  sym- 
bols of  faith  were  largely  the  creatures  of  the  government,  and  the 
bishops  were  servants  of  the  state.  Instead  of  the  former  apotheosis 
of  the  deceased  emperors,  a  divinity  was  made  to  attach  to  the  living 


250  ARCHEOLOGY   OP   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

ruler.  Into  his  presence  the  subject  must  approach  with  signs  of 
deepest  veneration.  The  stately  ceremonial  of  the  court  awed  the 
visitor.  Costliness  took  the  place  of  classic  forms  and  artistic  beauty. 
Freedom  had  died,  and  with  her  departed  the  soul  and  inspiration 
of  art. 

The  principle  of  centralization  found  its  best  expression  in  the 
strictly  Byzantine  architecture.  It  completed  what  the  Roman 
Byzantine  basilica  had  suggested  and  attempted.  Around  a  cen- 
effecl*'*'of"^^the  ^^^^  member  was  grouped  the  entire  structure  in  essen- 
Orientai  spirit,  tial  unity.  Every  subordinate  part  pointed  toward  the 
dome,  which  crowns  the  middle  of  the  Greek  cross,  as  to  the  imperial 
governing  power  of  the  whole.  The  strengthening  Orientalism  caused 
the  architecture  more  and  more  to  depart  from  the  simplicity  and 
unity  of  the  early  Greek,  and  thus  was  developed  a  style  which  may 
be  truly  called  Byzantine. 

The  history  of  Byzantine  architecture  is  usually  divided  into  two 
Two  historic  distinct  periods.  The  first  begins  with  the  reign  of 
periods.  Constantine  and  closes  with  the  rule  of  Justinian,  about 

the  middle  of  the  sixth  century.  The  second  extends  from  the  reign 
of  Justinian  to  the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth  century,  or  to  the  first 
revival  of  art  through  the  influence  of  Cimabue.  During  the  latter 
Fixedness  of  Period  art  forms  were  cast  in  an  unchanging  mould.  In 
art  forms  in  the  eastern  provinces  they  became  still  more  contami- 
second period,  ^^ted  by  Oriental  influences;  while  in  some  parts  of 
the  West  new  forces  effected  slight  modifications  of  the  original 
type.  It  has  already  been  noticed  {v.  p.  197)  that  in  the  first  period 
most  of  the  churches  of  the  Orient  preserved  the  Roman  style  of 
the  basilica,  excepting  the  open  rafter  work  and  ornamentation  of 
the  ceiling.  In  a  few  instances  the  intersection  of  the  main  nave  and 
transept  had  been  surmounted  by  a  small  cupola,  but  gradually  this 
was  developed  into  the  complete  and  imposing  dome  structure  cov- 
ering a  square  area:  this  is  the  distinctive  feature  of  the  later  Byz- 
antine architecture.  From  the  age  of  Justinian  this  was  the  pre- 
vailing style  in  the  Eastern  Empire,  while  in  the  West  the  tower 
was  developed  to  produce  a  like  effect  in  the  Romanesque  and 
Gothic  churches.'  We  have  already  met  this  form  and  growth  in  the 
churches  of  Ravenna.  The  perfection  of  Byzantine  architecture 
was,  however,  first  attained  in  the  Church  of  St.  Sophia.  It  fur- 
nished a  model  for  all  the  subsequent  churches  of  the  East.  The 
Reason  of  im-  history  of  the  empire  furnishes  an  easy  solution  of  this 
mobility.  fact.     After  Justinian,  stagnation  and  decay  character- 

ized the  Eastern  civilization.  All  turned  backward  to  his  reign  as 
'  Salzenburg:    Op.  cit.,  ss.  14,  15. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE. 


251 


St.  Sophia. 


to  the  golden  age.  An  earlier  Church  of  St.  Sophia,  built  by 
Constantine,  had  been  consumed  by  fire  during  a  popu- 
lar uprising.  For  its  re-building  Justinian  drew  upon 
the  resources  of  the  entire  empire.  The  planning  and  erection 
were  entrusted  to  the  two  most  noted  architects  of  the  age, 
Isodore  of  Miletus  and  Anthimius  of  Tralles.  It  is  claimed  by 
a  class  of  writers  on  the  history  of  architecture,  and  by  some 
archaeologists,"  that  these  wise  architects  had  clearly  in  mind  the 


Fig.  114.— Section  of  St.  Sophia.    To  compare  witli  the  Basilica  of  Constaatlue,  Rome. 

Church  of  SS.  Sergius  et  Bacchus,  and  the  so-called  Basilica  of  Con- 
stantine at  Rome,  as  models  for  their  great  work.  By  careful  com- 
parison of  Fig.  112  with  Fig.  116,  and  Fig.  114  with  Fig.  115,  the 
points  of  resemblance  will  be  apparent.  The  general  division  of 
the  enclosed  space  into  nine  parts,  the  use  of  strong  buttresses  to 
support  the  domed  coverings  and  provide  against  the  lateral  thrust, 

'  V.  Stockbaiier:    Op.  cit,  ss.  92,  93,  taf.  v,  Figs.  2,  3,  4,  5.     Dehio  u.  Bezold:   Op. 
cit,  ss.  29,  30,  taf.  6,  Fig.  1 ;  taf.  39,  Fig.  14. 


252 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


the  unification  of  the  three  middle  compartments  into  one  grand  and 
most  imposing  room,  etc,  are  some  elements  of  likeness  in  these 
buildings.  Doubtless,  however,  the  erection  of  one  imposing  dome, 
supported  by  four  massive  buttresses,  over  a  square  space,  is  a  new 
departure,  and  places  upon  St.  Sophia  the  stamp  of  originality. 

The  traditions  connected  with  the  building  of  this  most  noted 
Difflcuityofthe  church  are  numerous  and  interesting.  The  problems 
work.  to  be  solved  in  the  suspension  of  a  dome  one  hundred 

feet   in  diameter   a   hundred  feet  in  midair  were   most   difficult. 


Fig.  115.— Section  of  the  Basilica  of  Constantlne,  Rome.    To  compare  with  St.  Sophia,  Constan- 
tinople. 

The  enormous  weight  was  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  architects  of 
that  day.  The  reputed  revelations  in  dreams,  the  discovery  of 
bricks  in  the  island  of  Rhodes  of  one  fifth  of  the  ordinary  weight, 
etc.,  are  only  evidences  of  the  perplexities  felt  by  Justinian  and  his 
architects.  But  the  greatest  cause  of  wonder,  even  to  builders  of 
modern  times,  is  the  completion  of  this  church  in  the  incredibly 
short  space  of  six  years.  It  was  a  wonder  to  every  beholder,  and  re- 
mains to  our  day  in  many  respects  the  most  remarkable  architectural 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE.  2-)3 

monument  of  Christendom.  Since  its  transformation  into  a  Turkish 
mosque,  on  the  downfall  of  Constantinople  in  1453,  it  has  lost  much 
of  its  original  magnificence.  Mohammedan  zeal  against  images  in 
their  sacred  places  led  to  the  attempt  to  destroy  the  Defacement  of 
splendid  mosaics  which  had  been  preserved  in  much  mosaics. 
of  their  original  integrity.  But  happily  these  have  been  carefully 
measured  and  copied,  so  that  we  have  the  means  of  comparing  this 
building  and  its  decorations  with  the  descriptions  found  in  the 
Byzantine  writers.' 

As  before  remarked  (p.  251),  the  Church  of  St.  Sophia,  built 
by  Constantine,  had  been  burned  in  A.  D.  532,  during  a  fearful 
conflagration  originating  in  a  popular  outbreak  between  rival 
factions.  Justinian  resolved  to  rebuild  it  on  a  scale  of  magnifi- 
cence worthy  the  first  temple  of  Christendom.  A  man  of  com- 
prehensive plans,  he  was  also  possessed  of  a  rare  practical  talent  to 
secure  the  means  of  their  accomplishment.  Ti'adition  says  that  the 
plans  were  ready  within  forty  days  after  the  destruction  vast  prepara- 
of  the  first  church.  To  the  governors  of  the  provinces  m^^**- 
the  emperor  issued  edicts  to  procure  the  most  costly  materials  for 
this  work.  To  beautify  this  church  pagan  temples  in  Asia  Minor 
and  Greece  were  plundered  of  their  richest  art  treasures.*  The  his- 
torians tell  us  that  all  the  available  revenues  of  the  empire  were  laid 
under  contribution,  and  many  new  taxes  were  afterward  levied  for 
its  completion.  To  make  the  building  fireproof  was  one  of  the  first 
conditions  imposed  upon  the  architects.  An  immense  number  of 
workmen  were  employed.'  Justinian  himself,  by  daily  visitations, 
and  by  encouragements  or  rebukes,  pushed  on  the  work  with  such 
marvelous  rapidity  that  it  was  dedicated  in  December,  537  A.  D. 

The  dangers  from  fire  had  been  averted,  but  those  from  another 
source  had  not  been  foreseen.    Twenty-two  years  after  its  dedication 

'  One  of  the  best  authorities  on  the  Byzantine  architecture,  as  it  has  been  pre- 
served to  our  time,  is  Salzenberg,  W. :  Alt-chrisUiche  Baudenkmale  von  Constantinople 
vom  Y  bis  XII  Jahrhundert.  Berlin,  1854.  On  the  occasion  of  the  extensive  repairs 
of  the  Church  of  St.  Sophia  in  1847-48,  the  Prussian  government  took  occasion  to 
despatch  Salzenberg  to  Constantinople  to  make  careful  drawings  and  take  accurate 
measurements  of  this  church.  Fortunately  the  celebrated  architect,  Fossati,  was 
superintending  these  repairs,  and  gave  to  Salzenberg  every  aid  to  complete  his  work. 
The  extensive  scaffoldings,  reaching  to  the  highest  point  of  the  dome,  gave  opportu- 
nity to  make  all  necessary  measurements,  and  the  removal  of  the  thick  coats  of 
whitewash  revealed  the  mosaics  in  all  their  original  magnificence.  Thus  has  been 
preserved  a  complete  description  of  the  forms  and  interior  decorations  of  this  mag- 
nificent church. 

*  Salzenberg:    Op.  cii.,  s.  46.     Gibbon:  Decline  and  Fall,  chap.  xl. 

^  The  Byzantine  chroniclers  claim  that  ten  thousand  were  thus  employed. 
18 


254  ARCHAEOLOGY  OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

j^ortions  of  the  dome  and  of  the  furniture  of  the  church  were  ruined 

Injury     by  ^J  -^^^  earthquake.      Justinian  hastened  to  strengthen 

earthquake.       the  supports,  elevated  the  dome  about  twenty-five  feet, 

renovated  the  interior,  and  within  five  years  the  church  was  rededi- 

cated.     For  thirteen  centuries  it  has  stood  uninjured  by  repeated 

shocks  of  earthquakes  which  have  toppled  many  other  structures  to 

ruins. 

The  visitor  to  St.  Sophia  first  enters  the  fore-court  of  the  church, 

which  is  bounded  on  three  sides  by  a  row  of  columns, 
Description.  ,,.,-,..       ir    /      t~<- 

and  on  the  fourth  by  the  building  itself   [v.  rigs.  116, 

117).     Passing  by  the  fountain  in    the  middle  of    the   court,    he 

reaches  the  narthex,  the  place  for  the  penitents.     From  this  space 

five  marble  doors,  richly  decorated  with  bronze,  lead  into  a  second 

somewhat  more  extended  and  spacious  vestibule    having  vaulted 

ceilings  richly  adorned  with  variegated  marbles  and  mosaics.     Here 

the  sexes  separated.     The  women  proceeded  to  the  doors  on  either 

side  of  the  vestibule  that  opened  to  the  staircase  leading  to  the 

second  story.     This  was  called  the  gjaneceum,  because  exclusively 

set  apart  for  the  use  of  the  women.     The  men  passed  through  nine 

folding-doors  to  the  groundfloor  of  the  main  nave.' 

The  groundplan   of  this  church  is  nearly  square  {v.  Fig.  116). 

The  inner  lenarth,  exclusive  of  the  tribune,  is  234  feet. 
Dimensions.  ,,  -,  ^      ^    i-        .,      ^  ^  ^ 

the  breadth  217  feet.      Over  the  central  portion  rises 

the  cupola  to  the  40  windows  in  the  cornice ;  and  thence  a 
dome  reaches  to  the  vertex,  about  180  feet  above  the  pavement 
below.  The  dome  is  supported  by  four  massive  arches  which 
spring  from  immense  buttresses.  Leading  east  and  west  from  the 
square  area  beneath  are  rooms  of  semicircular  outline,  to  each  of 
which  three  colossal  niches  are  connected.  These  immense  semicir- 
cular spaces  are  covered  by  semidomes,  which  partly  lean  upon  the 
main  arches  which  support  the  central  dome,  and  are  partly  sup- 
ported by  the  cylindrically  vaulted  ceiling  of  the  three  niches 
{v.  Fig.  117). 
The  two  side  niches,  called  exedra,  are  also  semicircular  and  cov- 
ered with  smaller  semidomes.^  The  two  center  niches 
have,  however,  cylindricallj'-  vaulted  ceilings.  The 
east  one  terminates  in  a  semicircle,  covered  by  a  concha  which 
rises  from  the  enclosing  wall,  and  forms  the  apse  or  tribune.     All 

1  Schnaase:  Ite  Aufl.,  Bd.  iii,  ss.  137,  138. 

^  Distinction  must  be  made  in  the  plan  between  the  church  proper  and  the  annexed 
portions.     The  dome,  a  b,  covers  the  central  part  of  the  church  proper. 

2  The  arrangement  of  the  parts  of  this  remarkable  building  can  be  understood  by 
frequent  reference  to  the  vertical  section  (Fig.  117). 


FiR.  116.— St.  Sophia.    Groundplan. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  257 

of  these  spaces  taken  together  form  the  naos,  or  temple  proper. 
Between  this  and  the  enclosing  walls  on  the  north  and  south  sides 
extend  the  two-storied  side  halls,  each  of  which  is  divided  into  three 

parts.     Four  colossal  pillars  furnish  the  foundation  for 

,  .  .       ^  1  M      1    1  •     T     1  Dome  support. 

the  arches  supporting  the  dome,  while  behind  these  to- 
ward the  north  and  south,  in  the  enclosing  wall,  are  four  buttresses 
connected  with  these  pillars  by  arches.  By  a  series  of  buttresses 
and  connecting  arches  firm  supports  are  secured  for  the  conchas  and 
the  cylindrically  vaulted  ceilings.  Thus  the  entire  building,  while 
possessing  this  diversity  of  outline,  is  bound  together  into  a  beauti- 
ful and  harmonious  unity.  All  ceiling  spaces  are  cylindrical  or 
domed.  In  addition  to  the  enclosing  walls  and  the  system  of  but- 
tresses these  are  supported  in  the  lower  part  by  forty  columns  and 
eight  free  pilasters;  in  the  upper  part  by  sixty  columns.' 

The   lighting   of   the   interior   of   St.   Sophia   is  very   brilliant. 

Wherever  space  and  safety  permit  are  placed  windows 

1  J      r  1     J     T  •  4.-U   4.  The  lighting. 

in  great  number  and  of  marked  dimensions,  so  that  a 

flood  of  light  pours  through  them  into  the  house  of  God.*     At  the 

base  of  the  central  dome  are  forty  windows,  and  each  of  the  half 

domes  has  five.     The  first  rays  of  the  morning  sun  stream  into  the 

nave  through  the  six  large  windows  in  the  tribune,  while  the  setting 

sun,  shining  through  the  immense  semicircular  window  over  the 

entrance  in  the  west,  bathes  the  whole  interior  in  golden  effulgence. 

Twelve  windows  admit  the  light  through  the  arches  on  the  north, 

and  an  equal  number  on  the   south  diffuse  an  abundance  of  light 

throughout  the  lateral  halls  above  and  below.     There  is  evidence 

that  some  of  the  window  spaces  existing  in  the  time  of  Procopius 

have  been  closed  by  masonry;  nevertheless,  the  present  mosque  is 

very  brilliantly  liffhted.^     The  injunction  of  Justinian 

''  JO  J  Fireproof. 

to  build  a  fireproof  church  was  most  carefully  heeded, 
even  in  the  arrangement  of  the  windows.     By  an  ingenious  and  ex- 
pensive combination  of  brick  work  and  marble  plates  even  the  frame 
settings  of  the  windows  are  entirely  lacking  in  wood. 

The  impression  made  upon  the  visitor  on  his  first  entrance  to  this 
church  is  that  of  vastness,  grandeur,  and  magnificence,  impression 
The  eye  wanders  over  the  immense  nave,  peers  into  the  upon  the  vi- 
adjacent  halls,  rests  upon  the  beautiful  gynecseum,  then 
is  lifted  to  the  enormous  dome  that  seems  to  float  in  midair.  At 
every  step  new  beauties  are  revealed.  The  richness  of  the  materials, 
and  the  completed  unity  in  the  midst  of  almost  infinite  diversity, 
entrance  the  beholder.  In  Justinian's  time,  when  to  all  essentials 
of  the  structure  preserved  to  our  day  were  added  the  rich  adorn- 

'  Salzenberg:  ss.  53,  54,  55.         ^  Salzenberg:  s.  84.         ^  Salzenberg:  Op.  rit,  id. 


358  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

meiits  of  the  high  altar,  the  beautiful  ambos,  the  sparkling  of  the 
vessels  of  gold  bedecked  with  gems,  the  gleaming  of  countless  can- 
delabra, the  splendour  of  the  garments  of  the  retinue  of  clergy 
and  helpers,  the  sonorous- voiced  2:)riests  as  they  intoned  the  sublime 
ritual,  the  response  from  the  hundred-voiced  choir,  rolling  through 
the  corridors  and  arches  like  the  voice  of  many  waters — the  wor- 
shiper must  have  been  impressed  that  this  was  a  temple  worthy  of 
dedication  to  the  Eternal  Wisdom,  and  one  where  Iiis  Spirit  would 
delight  to  dwell.  Of  the  richness  of  the  decoration  we  cannot  speak 
The  decora-  in  detail.  The  pavement  was  wrought  out  into  veiy 
^io°s.  elaborate  and  beautiful  patterns  of  marble  mosaic.     The 

columns  were  of  the  richest  and  rarest  materials.  The  walls  were 
lined  with  slabs  of  marble  and  of  verde  antique  of  most  exquisite 
coloring.  The  walls  and  ceilings  in  the  great  dome  and  in  all  the 
adjacent  parts  were  enriched  with  mosaics  of  saints  of  colossal  size.' 

St.  Sophia  furnished  the  type  for  all  later  churches  of  the  Byz- 
A  type  for  antine  Empire.  It  brought  to  perfection  a  style  that 
churche's'^  of  ^'^'^  Strictly  be  called  unique.  The  whole  spirit  of  the 
the  East.  exterior  was  harmonious  with  the  theory  of  imperialism 

prevalent  in  the  Eastern  Empire  and  Church.  Art  was  pressed  into 
the  service  of  dogma.  It  crystallized  into  stiff  and  unchanging  types 
which  continued  in  the  Russian-Greek  churches  till  the  time  of 
Peter  the  Great. 

The  transformation  of  St.  Sophia  into  a  Mohammedan  mosque  left 
almost  unchanged  the  narthex,  the  nave,  the  side  halls,  and  the 
The  losses  to  gynecffium;  but  the  Other  portions,  especially  those  more 
the  church.  immediately  used  in  the  Christian  cultus,  have  been  en- 
tirely lost.  The  marble  railing  separating  the  clergy  from  the 
laity,  the  seats  of  the  priests,  the  throne  of  the  patriarch,  the  cibo- 
rium,  the  ambos,  and  all  the  utensils  of  the  church  have  jDerished. 
From  documents  still  extant  *  we  learn  that  under  Justinian  not 
less  than  five  hundred  and  twenty-five  persons  were  employed  in 
the  direct  service  of  this  church,  while  in  the  reign  of  Heraclius 
the  number  had  increased  to  six  hundred.^  These  also  cared  for 
three  other  churches  of  the  capital.* 

The  bema  probably  extended  to  the  border  of  the  eastern  half 
dome,  while  the  solea,  for  the  inferior  clergy,  occupied  the  entire 

'  V.  the  representation  of  the  great  mosaic  of  Christ  and  the  emperor  that  was 
wrought  out  over  the  grand  portal  (Fig.  44,  p.  129). 

'u.  Du  Cange:    GonstantinopoUs  Christiana,  lib.  iii,  p.  71. 

^  Du  Cange:  iii,  71.  They  are  given  as  follows:  80  priests,  150  deacons,  40  dea- 
conesses, 70  subdeacons,  160  readers,  125  chanters,  75  doorkeepers. 

*  See  Plate  11-^. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


261 


space  covered  by  the  eastern  concha.  The  ambos  must  have  stood 
still  farther  toward  the  west,  and  must  have  occupied  a  The  arrange- 
very  prominent  place,  from  the  fact  that  here  the  Scrip-  ™ent  of  parts. 
tures  were  read,  the  sermon  preached,  and  the  emperors  crowned. 
Near  by,  in  the  adjacent  spaces,  were  stationed  the  singers  under  the 
direction  of  leaders.  In  the  exedra,  toward  the  north  and  south,  were 
collected  the  deacons  who  were  to  assist  in  the  sacred  ministrations. 
The  sacred  table  of  gold,  inlaid  with  gems,  rested  on  golden  columns 
and  was  supplied  with  golden  furniture.'  Over  it  rose  the  beautiful 
ciborium  on  four  silver  columns,  between  which  were  spread  the 
richly  ornamented  hangings.  The  lofty  octagonal  dome  above 
was  crowned  by  a  silver  globe  sui*mounted  by  the  cross.  From 
the  ceiling  of  the  ciborium  hung  the  silver  dove,  representing  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  contained  the  sacred  elements  to  be  distributed 
among  the  sick.  From  the  description  of  Paulus  Silentiarius  we  in- 
fer that  the  accompaniments  of  candelabra,  lamps,  and  halos  for  the 
illumination  of  this  church  must  have  been  incomparably  rich.^ 

§  4.    The  Circular  Structure. 
A  fourth  type  of  the  central  building  is  the  circular,  with  an 
inner   portico    which   surrounds   the  area   covered   by  the   dome. 


Fig.  118.— Section  of  Santa  Constanza,  Rome. 


Santa  Con- 
stanza. 


Few  churches  following  this  general  plan  were  erected 
in  the  West  during  the  reign  of  Constantine  the  Great. 
The  most  typical  example  of  this  circular  architecture   from  the 

'  Paulus  Silentiarius :  i,  v.  240 ;  ii,  v.  335.     Evagrius :  Hist.  EccL,  lib.  iv,  c.  xxxi. 
'  For  a  complete  presentation  of  the  history  of  Sancta  Sophia  see  Grosvenor's  Con- 
stantinople.    2  vols.     Boston,  1805. 


2G2 


ARCH.5:0L0GY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


fourth  century  is  Santa  Constanza/  on  the  Via  Nomentana  in  Rome 
(Fia^.  118).  Tradition  says  it  occuj^ies  the  site  of  a  former  Bacchus 
temple.  Its  rotunda  is  sixty-seven  feet  in  diameter.  Twenty-four 
columns  in  double  rows  support  the  dome  and  the  vaultings  of  the 
outer  corridor.  Here  the  sarcophagus "  of  Constantia,  the  daughter 
of  Constantine,  was  formerly  preserved.  It  seems  probable  that 
the  entire  building  was  once  used  as  a  mausoleum  to  the  imperial 
Marks  atransi-  family,  rather  than  as  a  temple  to  Bacchus.^  This  build- 
'i°°-  ing  marks  a  transition  from  the  classic  to  the  mediaeval 

spirit.  The  degeneracy  of  the  old  is  apparent,  while  at  the  same 
time  elements  are  here  introduced  which  play  a  most  important  part 
in  the  development  of  Christian  architecture.^ 


Santa 

Maggiore 

Nocera. 


tig  llJ.—bautd  Mdi Id  JNlciggioit,  Nocera  de  Fagam.  Vertical  section 

Of  somewhat  similar  arrangement  is  the  church  Santa  Maria 
Maria  Maggiore,  in  Nocera  de  Pagani,  near  Naples  (Fig.  119). 
in  This  also  seems  to  belong  to  the  fourth  century.  It  is 
a  baptistery  of  sixteen  sides.  The  central  domed  space 
is  thirty-five  feet  in  diameter,  while  that  of  the  entire  building  is 
seventy -three  feet.  While  its  exterior  is  wanting  in  attractiveness, 
the  interior  nevertheless  makes  upon  the  mind  of  the  visitor  "  an 
impression  of  the  fullness  of  mystery  in  which  the  church  of  that 

'  Ciampini :    Vetera  Monimenta,  Tom.  i,  Tab.  i,  etc.     Kugler :   Geschichte  d.  Baukunst, 
Bd.  i,  ss.  327,  328.     Dehio  u.  Bezold :  Op.  at,  s.  34,  Taf.  8,  Fig.  1,  2. 
'■*  Now  in  the  Vatican  Museum. 
^Fcirster:  Mittelu.  Unter  Itulien,  s.  250. 
^Kugler:   Op.  cit.,  Bd.  i,  s.  328. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE.  263 

j/eriod  must  vie  with  the  decaying  splendor  of  heathen  temples 
and  shrines." '  While  grouped  in  the  same  class  as  Santa  Con- 
stanza,  this  building  differs  from  it  in  many  essential  features,  in 
some  resj)ects  being  quite  closely  allied  to  San  Vitale  of  Ravenna.* 

A  third  example  of  this  architectural  type  is  the  baptistery  of  San 
Giovanni  in  Laterano  in  Rome.^  Tradition  attributes  the  founda- 
tion to  Constantine  I.,  but  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  building  was 
erected  by  Sixtus  III.,  in  the  first  half  of  the  fifth  century.  De  Fleury 
argues  this  from  its  architectural  features.  Eight  columns  support 
an  entablature  upon  which  rests  a  second  series  of  columns,  by 
which  the  dome  is  supported.  Between  the  central  space  and  the 
enclosing  wall  is  a  broad  passage-way  which  is  lighted  by  windows 
placed  in  the  lower  section  of  the  dome.  While  much  pertaining 
to  this  baptistery  is  conjectural,  it  is  nevertheless  fairly  well  estab- 
lished that  the  main  features  were  as  here  represented.  The  general 
custom  of  devoting  a  separate  building  to  the  celebration  of  this  in- 
itiative rite  of  the  Christian  Church  is  here  illustrated. 

The  diversity  of  opinion  relative  to  the  connection  and  reciprocal 
influence  of  eastern  and  western  architectural  principles  san  stefano  ro- 
is  very  manifest  in  the  case  of  San  Stefano  rotondo,^  of  tondo. 
Rome.  "  It  is  an  enigma  in  the  architectural  history  of  Rome  " 
(Dehio  u.  Bezold).  By  some  it  has  been  regarded  as  a  transforma- 
tion of  an  earlier  temple  of  Vesta;  by  others  (specially  by  some  of 
the  French  archaeologists)  as  an  apartment  of  the  grand  market  of 
Nero;  by  still  others  (Bunsen)  as  an  original  church,  while  others 
(Hiibsch)  regard  it  as  a  most  striking  proof  of  the  inventive  genius 
of  the  early  Christian  architects.  While  lacking  de-  uncertainty  of 
monstrative  evidence  the  opinion  is  nevertheless  fairly  origin, 
established  that  it  originated  in  the  fifth  century,  probably  in  the 
reign  of  Theodosius  the  Great,  just  prior  to  the  Roman  downfall. 
It  likewise  possesses  elements  allying  it  to  the  central  buildings  of 
the  Orient  which  originated  in  the  reign  of  Constantine  I,  Just 
to  what  extent  the  liturgical  needs  of  the  Church  influenced  its 
peculiar  construction  may  not  be  fully  determined,  proper  ciassifl- 
Certainly  its  arrangement  of  concentric  circles  in  con-  cation. 
nection  with  two  perpendicular  axes  justifies  its  classification  under 
the  head  of  central  domical  buildings.^ 

'  Burckhardt :   Cicerone,  s.  89. 

2  Dehio  u.  Bezold:    Op.  cit,  Ite  Lief.,  ss.  34,  35,  Taf.  8,  Pig.  3,  4. 

3  Rohault  de  Fleury :  Le  Lateran,  pi.  7,  Fig.  3,  4.  Buusen :  Die  Basilihen  des 
christlichen  Roms,  Taf.  xxxvii.     Dehio  u.  Bezold :    Op.  cit,  ss.  34,  35,  Taf.  8,  Fig.  3,  4. 

^Fergusson:  History  of  Architecture.     Bunsen:    Beschreibung  d.   Stadt  Rams,   iii. 
Die  Basiliken  d.  Christ.  Roms,  Taf.  xix,  B.  C.     Hiibsch  :  Die  alt-christliche  Kirchen. 
*  Dehio  u.  Bezold:   Op.  cit.,  s.  41,  Taf.  11,  Fig.  1,  2. 


264 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 


Among  other  noted  churches  of  this  class  may  be  mentioned  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  at  Jerusalem,  and  the  Church  of  the 
Ascension,  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  both  from  the  Constantinian 
period.  Unfortunately,  they  are  known  only  through  the  descrip- 
tions of  the  historians.  An  example  of  the  purest  Byzantine 
style,  wrought  out  by  Byzantine  artists,  yet  for  Mohammedan  uses, 
is  the  Mosque  of  Omar,  at  Jerusalem,  built  on  the  site  of  Solomon's 
temple.  It  belongs  to  the  seventh  century.  It  is  the  finest  example 
of  the  central  structure  that  has  been  preserved,  and  ranks  among 
the  most  impressive  sacred  buildings  of  the  world,  not  from  its  vast- 
ness,  but  from  the  purity  of  its  style  and  the  intense  interest  associ- 
ated with  its  site.' 

§  5.  The  Cruciform  Buildings. 

A  fifth  class  of  central  buildings  of  the  early  Christian  centuries 
is  the  cruciform.  They  were  at  first 
mostly  with  equal  arms — the  Latin  form 
of  the  cross  being  later  introduced  into 
the  oblong  basilica  through  the  develop- 
ment of  the  transept.  Christian  struc- 
tures in  the  general  form  of  the  Greek 
cross  were  commonly  used  for  burial 
chapels.  Like  forms  are  met  in  build- 
ings of  pagan  origin,  and  devoted  to  like 
purposes ;  yet  it  is  most  probable  that  the 
Christian  Church  first  attached  to  the 
form  of  the  cross  a  deep  religious  signifi- 
cance, and  found  it  especially  adapted  to 
the  purposes  of  public  worship. 

The  Church  of  SS.  Nazareo  e  Celso,'  of 
Ravenna  (Figs.  120,  121),  is  a  good  exam- 
ple of  this  species  of  central  structure.  It 
was  the  burial  chapel  of  Galla  Placidia, 
and  is  still  among  the  most  instructive 
Fig.  120. -ss.  Nazareo  e  ceiso.    monuments  of   early  Christian  architec- 

Burial  Chapel  of   Galla  Placidia,  i      mi        <.  n      i  •  ^ 

Ravenna.  Groundpian.  ture.'     The  fate  of  this  Avoman,  whose 


'  The  controversies  respecting  the  origin,  location,  and  fate  of  the  buildings  erected 
on  this  sacred  site  have  been  protracted,  and  at  times  passionate.  The  most  calm, 
thorough,  and  generally  satisfactory  examinations  have  been  made  by  the  Count  de 
Vogiie  in  his  Le  Temple  de  Jerusalem  and  Les  Eglises  de  la  terre  sainte. 

"  H.  Gaily  Knight:  Op.  cit.,  plate  vi.  Quast :  Op.  cit.,  ss.  10-15,  tt.  ii-vi.  Dehio  u. 
Bezold:   Op.  cit,  s.  45,  t.  12,  Fig.  4,  5. 

'The  church  proper  is  the  Latin  cross,  the  upper  portion  of  the  figure;  the  oilier 
parts  show  the  groundpian  of  buildings  connected  with  the  church. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   ARCHITECTURE. 


365 


fortunes  were  so  strangely  romantic,  cannot  be  established  with 
complete  historic  certainty,  nor  has  the  question  whether  she  died 
in  Rome  or  Ravenna  been  satisfactorily  determined.  The  fact  of 
her  interment  in  this  building  is,  however,  generally  accepted. 
The  magnificent  interior,  which  is  in  the  spirit  of  the  truest  art, 
suggests  the  mausoleum  of  some  royal  personage,  and  indicates  a 
period  when  correct  art  principles  had  not  yet  been  supplanted  by 
the  rudeness  of  a  later  barbarism.  The  groundplan  is  that  of  a 
Latin  cross  (y.  Fig.  120)  like  some  that  had  already  been  built  in 
Rome  and  in  the  Orient;  but  it  is  note-worthy  that  this  is  the 
oldest  existing  church  in  which  the  dome  covers  a  quadrangu- 
lar space  in  the  form  of  the  cross.^  The  exterior  is  of  brick, 
and  of  very  indifferent  appearance.      The   interior  form  and  ar- 


Fig.  121.— SS.  Nazareo  e  Celso,  Ravenna.    Longitudinal  section. 


rangement  are,  however,  quite  peculiar,  approaching  more  nearly  to 
the  classic  spirit  than  do  other  so-called  Byzantine  buildings  in  the 
Occident.  The  decorations  in  mosaics  and  marbles  are  rich  and 
harmonious  (y.  Fig.  121).  The  figures  are  well  executed,  the  details 
pleasing,  and  all  contribute  to  the  perfection  of  the  whole.  In  it  are 
five  sarcophagi.''  Their  history  is  somewhat  uncertain,  yet  by  com- 
bining the  traditions  and  all  the  known  facts  it  seems  probable  that 
the  buildinar  was  designed  for  a  mausoleum  for  Galla  Placidia  and 
her  family.  Under  the  dome,  between  the  sarcophagi,  stands  an 
altar  which  is  of  much  archaeological  interest  in  connection  with  the 
appointments  of  the  Church  of  the  fifth  century.' 

1  Qnast:  s.  11,  t.  ii,  5. 

"  The  position  of  three  of  these  is  seen  in  Figs.  120  and  121. 

»  Quast  :  s.  13,  t.  iii,  2. ' 


266 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


Another  species  of  this  class  of  cruciform  structures  is  represented 
by  the   Cathedral  of  Trier,   from  the  fourth  century,  A.  D.  370 

(Fig.  122).  This  cannot  with  strict 
propriety  be  called  a  central  struc- 
ture; nevertheless  the  other  parts  are 
so  brought  into  architectural  unity  by 
the  middle  portion  that  its  likeness  to 
other  buildings  of  the  central  type  is 
striking.  The  intersection  of  four 
vaulted  ceilings  in  the  middle  of  the 
church,  over  which  rises  the  dome,  sug- 
gests a  rivalry  between  the  Byzantine 
style  and  that  of  the  oblong  basilica. 

Among  the  most  imjDortant  of  this 
species  of  churches  is  San  Lorenzo  of 
Milan,  probably  from  the  fifth  century. 
Whether  its  origin  was  pagan  or  Christ- 
ian has  been  warmly  debated,  nor  is  it 
certain  what  portions  of  the  present  structure  are  original.  Never- 
theless, the  attractiveness  of  its  style  and  arrangement,  as  well 
as  its  probable  antiquity,  have  justified  the  thorough  study  of  its 
details. 


Fig.   122.  —  Cathedral     of 
Gronndplan. 


Trier. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   EPIGRAPHY.  267 


CHAPTER  VII. 

EARLY     CHRISTIAN     EPIGRAPHY. 
§  1.  Definitions  and  Principles. 

Epigraphy  treats  of  the  content,  character,  chronology,  decipher- 
ing, and  interpretation  of  inscriptions. 

The  term  inscriptions  is  applied  to  "  all  non-literary  remains  of  a 
language  with  the  exception  of  coins,  letters  and  jour- 
nals." '  They  are  found  in  widely  separated  districts,  on 
various  materials,  and  executed  for  a  great  variety  of  purposes. 
While  some  would  refer  these  chiefly  to  the  department  of  literary 
history,'  it  is  evident  that  they  are  likewise  invaluable  in  the  study  of 
political  history,  of  private  life,  of  religion,  laws,  arts,  and  beliefs. 

When  Paul,  on  Mars  Hill,  said  to  the  Athenians,  "  I  perceive  that 
in  all  things  ye  are  very  religious.  For,  as  I  passed  Early  christian 
by,  and  beheld  your  devotions,  I  found  an  altar  with  use. 
this  inscription.  To  an  Unknown  God  "  (Acts  xvii,  22,  23),  he 
recognized  the  importance  and  utility  of  epigraphical  teaching. 
The  apostolic  example  was  frequently  imitated  by  the  Christian 
fathers  in  their  apologetic  writings  against  their  heathen  opponents, 
and  afterward  in  the  defence  of  the  Catholic  doctrines  as  against 
the  heretical  teachers.  Not  infrequently  inscriptions  are  quoted  in 
their  exegetical  works  and  in  their  sermons,  while  the  early  Church 
historians,  Eusebius  and  Socrates,  depend  for  some  of  their  state- 
ments upon  the  evidence  furnished  by  inscriptions  which  were  well 
known  in  their  times  but  afterwards  perished. 

Since  the  great  revival  of  the  sixteenth  century  this  department 
of  archaeology  has  been  very  diligently  cultivated,  increased  in- 
By  the  added  evidence  of  epigraphical  remains  the  terest  ia  later 
history  of  Asiatic  dynasties  and  of  Egypt  has  been  '^'^' 
entirely  reconstructed,  and  the  character  of  these  far  off  civil- 
izations has  been  determined  with  a  good  degree  of  certainty.  The 
military  conquests,  the  social  status  of  the  people,  the  imple- 
ments of  peaceful  industry  and  of  war,  the  provisions  for  education, 
the  condition  of  science,  literature,  and  art,  are  often  most  clearly 
attested  by  these  silent,  unconscious  witnesses.     The  results  of  epi- 

'  V.  Huebner :  article  "  Inscriptions  "  in  the  Encyclopedia  Brilannica,  9th  edition. 
'  V.  Boeckh :   CorpiLS  Inscriptionum  Grcecarum,  vol.  i,  Preface,  p.  vii. 


268  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

graphical  studies  have  not  been  less  interesting  or  helpful  in  writing 
Value  of  ^^^®  history  of  the  Christian  Church.  They  have  fully  con- 
christian  epig-  firmed  the  opinion  that  Christianity  was  early  embraced 
raphy.  -^^  members  of  the  better  families  at  Rome.    They  have 

more  clearly  illustrated  the  contrast  between  heathen  and  Christian 
morality,  life,  and  hopes.  They  have  greatly  strengthened  confi- 
dence in  the  integrity  and  accuracy  of  some  of  the  early  Church 
historians,  upon  whose  statements  unstinted  ridicule  had  hitherto 
been  cast.  They  have  proved  the  tenacity  of  heathen  faith  and 
practices,  and  their  vitality  long  after  the  time  to  which  it  had 
been  usual  to  refer  their  decadence  and  death.  They  have  con- 
firmed the  statements  relative  to  the  rapid  progress  of  monasticism 
in  the  West  during  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  and  have  sug- 
gested sufficient  reasons  for  the  marvellous  success  of  this  institu- 
tion. They  have  shown  that  the  accounts  of  suffering,  and  of  the 
number  of  martyr  deaths  among  the  early  Christians,  were  not  ex- 
aggerated by  the  ancient  Church  historians  (Eusebius  and  others), 
and  that  the  attempts  (notably  by  Gibbon  and  his  school)  to  dimin- 
ish the  horrors  of  the  Neronian  and  other  persecutions  are  not 
justified  by  the  evidence.  They  have  unconsciously  testified  to  the 
orders  and  duties  of  the  clergy,  and  to  the  number,  modes  of  admin- 
istration, and  efficacy  of  the  Christian  sacraments.  They  have 
clearly  proved  the  acceptance  and  strong  supporting  power  of  the 
distinguishing  doctrines  of  Christianity  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
trying  circumstances.  They  have  been  the  means  of  correcting 
serious  errors  in  chronology,  and  of  determining  the  genuine  text  of 
the  early  Christian  writings. 

The  number  of  Christian  inscriptions  of  the  first  six  centuries 

,  already  described   is   very   great.     It  is  impossible  to 
Numberof  -^  .  •  ,         -,      ^  , 

Christian    in-   speak  With  precision,  since  hundreds  are  yearly  added 

scriptions.         ^q  ^]jg  number.     Probably  more  than  twenty  thousand 

have  been  discovered,  and  accessions  are  made  almost  daily.  ^     Of 

these  by  far  the  larger  portion  (probably  more  than  three  fourths) 

have  been  found  in  Rome  and  its  immediate  vicinity.    Great  as  is  the 

'  In  1862  de  Rossi  affirmed  that  the  number  of  Christian  inscriptions  of  the  first 
six  centuries  then  Ivnown  was  about  fourteen  thousand,  of  which  eleven  thousand 
were  found  in  Rome  and  vicinity,  and  three  thousand  in  all  the  rest  of  the  world. 
V.  De  la  Determination  Chronologiqxie  des  Inscriptions  chretiennes  in  the  Revue  Arche- 
ohffique,  December,  1862.  M.  Cumont  has  recently  given  a  list  of  the  Christian  in- 
scriptions of  Asia  Minor,  in  the  Roman  Melanges  d' Archeologie  et  d'Histoire,  1896; 
and  W.  M.  Ramsay,  in  the  second  part  of  his  Cities  and  Bishoprics  of  Phrygia,  has 
given  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  Christian  inscriptions  from  the  southwestern  and 
west  central  district  of  Phrygia  which  are  collected  and  published  for  the  first 
time.     London,  1895. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   EPIGRAPHY.  269 

number  alveady  known,  it  is  but  a  small  fraction  of  what  once  ex- 
isted. "  From  collections  made  in  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries  it 
appears  that  there  were  once  at  least  one  hundred  and  seventy  ancient 
Christian  inscriptions  in  Rome  which  had  an  historical  or  monu- 
mental character,  written  generally  in  metre,  and  to  be  seen  at  that 
time  in  the  places  they  were  intended  to  illustrate.  Of  these  only 
twenty-six  remain  in  whole  or  in  parts.  In  the  Roman  topographies 
of  the  seventh  century,  one  hundred  and  forty  sepulchres  of  famous 
martyrs  and  confessors  are  enumerated;  we  have  recovered  only 
twenty  inscribed  memorials  to  assist  us  in  the  identification  of  these. 
Only  nine  epitaphs  have  come  to  light  belonging  to  the  bishops  of 
Rome  during  these  same  six  centuries;  and  yet,  during  that  period, 
there  were  certainly  buried  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city  upward  of 
sixty."  ^  De  Rossi  believes  that  more  than  one  hundred  thousand 
Christian  inscriptions  of  the  first  six  centuries  once  existed,  four 
fifths  of  which  have  been  lost. 

The  early  Christian  inscriptions  are  mostly  found  upon  stone 
(generally  marble),  bronze,  or  on  tables  of  baked  clay,  j^ateriais  on 
A  few  examples  in  which  the  inscription  is  upon  lead  which  inscnp- 
tablets  or  plates  have  been  preserved."  The  letters  are  "ons  are  found, 
usually  sunk  into  the  stone;  in  very  few  cases,  if  at  all,  are  they  in 
relief.  Sometimes,  especially  in  the  catacombs  of  Rome,  Syracuse, 
and  Naples,^  the  inscription  is  painted,  usually  with  red  pigment; 
in  some  instances  the  sculptured  letters  are  gilded. 

The  writers  on  Latin  epigraphy  divide  the  inscriptions  into  two 
classes:  "(1)  those  which  were  written  upon  other  ob-  ^inds  of  in- 
jects of  various  kinds,  to  denote  their  peculiar  purpose,  scriptions. 
and  in  this  way  have  been  preserved  along  with  them;  and  (2)  those 
which  themselves  are  the  objects,  written,  to  be  durable,  as  a  rule, 
on  metal  or  stone.  The  first  class  is  that  of  inscriptions  in  the 
stricter  sense  of  the  word  {tituli) ;  the  second  is  that  of  instruments 
or  charters,  public  or  private  {leges,  instrutnenta,  tahulm).*''^  Some 
writers  on  Christian  epigraphy  ^  incline  to  a  threefold  division, 
namely:  (1)  Those  cut  in  stone  or  bronze  {tnarmora,  tituli,  lapides); 
(2)   those  painted  in  colors  or  sometimes  written  with  coal  (Ital. 

'  Northcote  and  Brownlow  :  Roma  Sotterranea,  vol.  ii,  part  iii,  p.  3.  For  the  met- 
rical inscriptions,  v.  de  Rossi :  Ins.  Chrisiimice  urbis  Homce,  vol.  ii.     1888. 

*  In  this  respect  they  correspond  to  the  heathen  inscriptions,  only  very  few  of  which 
are  found  on  thin  lead  plates,  which  were  rolled  up,  placed  in  the  tombs,  and  thus 
preserved,     v.  Franz  :  Ele7n.  Epigr.  Gr.,  p.  168. 

^  V.  Schultze :  Katakomben  v.  S.  Gennaro  dei  Poveri  in  Neapel.,  pp.  37,  50,  etc.  Mar- 
tigny  :  Bictionn.,  etc.,  p.  361.     BuUettino  Arch,  crist.,  1880,  t.  i ;  1881,  t.  vii  and  viii. 

*  Huebner  :    Op.  cif. 

'  De  Rossi,  and  his  commentators  and  disciples. 
19 


270  ARCHEOLOGY   OF    CHRISTIAN   ART. 

dipmti);  and  (3)  those  which  have  been  scratched  on  stone,  mortat, 
or  cement  (Ital.  graffiti).  Under  the  second  are  usually  classified 
the  painted  and  gilded  glasses  and  the  colored  mosaics,  which  are 
somewhat  numerous  and  important/ 

It  is  highly  probable  that  inscriptions  of  the  first  class  were  pre- 
By  whom  pre-  pared  in  the  shops  of  the  workers  in  marble  {marmo- 
pared.  rarii).     The  sign  of  such  an  artisan  has  been  found  in 

Pompeii.''  The  painted  inscriptions  and  some  of  the  graffiti,  on  the 
contrary,  seem  to  have  been  sometimes  prepared  by  the  friends  of 
the  deceased,  or  by  the  Fossoi-es.  In  a  few  graffiti  are  indications 
that  they  were  prepared  to  ridicule  the  Christians  and  their  faith' 
{v.  Figs.  25,  26). 

In  Christian  epigraphy,  as  in  manuscripts,  well  settled  paleo- 
Paieographic  graphic  principles  must  be  observed  in  order  to  deter- 
principies.  mine  the  genuineness  and  age  of  inscrij)tions.  While 
these  principles  have  not  been  so  scientifically  determined  in  the 
case  of  Christian  inscriptions  as  in  those  of  classical  origin, 
much  aid  is,  nevertheless,  furnished  by  them  to  the  student  of 
Christian  antiquities  to  settle  doubtful  chronologies  and  to  detect 
spurious  monuments. 

Three  forms  of  writing  are  used  in  Christian  inscriptions;  namely, 
capitals,  uncial  characters,  and  cursive  writing.*  The  capitals  are 
generally  used  in  the  earliest  inscriptions,  but  are  often  found  in 
connection  with  the  more  popular  and  convenient  cursive  writing. 
The  uncials  are  related  to  the  cursive  in  their  inclination  to  round 
the  character,  but  more  nearly  resemble  the  capital.  This  begins 
to  appear  during  the  fourth  century,  while  in  the  fifth  it  is  first 
fully  popularized. 

Usually,  as  in  English,  these  inscriptions  are  read  from  left  to 
right;  in  a  few  instances  they  are  read  from  right  to 
left,  while  in  some  others  they  must  be  read  from  top 
to  bottom  {v.  Plate  VI,  No.  3).  The  lines  are  usually  of  equal 
length,  of  considerable  i-egularity,  and  are  broken  up  without  respect 
to  the  division  of  single  words.  In  later  inscriptions,  especially,  the 
spaces  between  the  letters  are  very  evenly  divided. 

Punctuation  seems  to  have  been  governed  l)y  other 

principles  than  are  now  recognized.  Instead  of  indicating 

the  sense,  it  marked  lines,  words,  syllables,  and  even  letters.     No 

'  For  reasons  elsewhere  given  we  have  not  observed  this  classification. 

*  "Titulos  scribendos  vel  si  quid  operis  marmorar  (ii)  opus  fuerit,  hie  habes." 

^  V.  Garrucci :  II  Crocifisso  Graffito  in  casa  del  Cesari.     Becker :  Das  Spott-  Crucifix. 

*  V.  Zell :  Handhuch  der  rom.  Epigraphik.  Le  Blant :  Inscriptions  ckret.  de  la  Gaul, 
etc.     Also  his  Manuel  d^ Epi graphic  chretienne. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   EPIGRAPHY.  271 

regularity  is  observed,  oftentimes  punctuation  being  wholly  wanting. 
The  marks  vary  from  a  point  to  a  heart-shaped  leaf  (Plate  VIII,  No, 
6),  a  cross '  (Plate  VIII,  No.  3),  a  star,  a  ^  (Plate  VIII,  No.  2),  or  a 
triangle,  while  the  end  of  an  inscription  is  seldom  marked  at  all. 
In  common  with  other  ancient  inscriptions,  those  of  Christian  origin 
are  often  greatly  abbreviated,'^  either  by  the  union  of  letters  or  their 
omission.  The  abbreviations  by  joined  letters  {literm  Ugat(x)  are 
presumably  of  later  origin. 

The  orthography  of  Christian  inscriptions  often  departs  widely 
from  accepted  standards,  and  not  seldom  from  that  in  orthography  of 
current  use.  This  incorrect  spelling  rapidly  increased  inscriptions. 
during  the  fifth  century,  the  period  of  the  destructive  invasions  of 
the  northern  hordes.  It  consists  in  change  of  vowels,  in  the  inter- 
change of  the  Unguals  and  labials,  in  the  omission  of  letters,  etc. 
There  is  frequent  departure  from  the  current  syntax  in  the  use  of 
unusual  and  non-classical  forms  with  prepositions,  of  relative  pro- 
nouns, etc.  At  times  attempts  to  correct  these  errors  are  noticed. 
Occasionally  Latin  words  are  written  with  Greek  characters,  and 
conversely;  sometimes  both  Latin  and  Greek  characters  are  found 
in  the  same  inscription,  and  in  a  fcAV  instances  the  inscription  stands 
in  both  Latin  and  Greek.     Sometimes  words  are  repeated.' 

For  historical  and  archaeological  purposes  the  determination  of 
the  date  of  inscriptions  is  of  prime  importance.     Only   chronology  of 
thus  are  they  helpful  to  mark  the  changes  which  the  inscriptions. 
Church  underwent  in  successive  periods  of  its  history.     Since  but  a 
small   number  of   the  monuments   containing    inscriptions  bear  a 

I  Opinions  differ  as  to  the  significance  of  the  heart-shaped  leaf  and  the  cross  in  the 
midst  of  Christian  inscriptions.  The  first  lias  by  some  (de  Rossi:  Tnscriptiones^  etc., 
i,  pp.  70,  148)  been  interpreted  to  indicate  the  grief  of  surviving  friends.  Both  are 
found  in  connection  with  heathen  inscriptions,  and  therefore  can  scarcely  be  regarded 
as  having  in  themselves  a  religious  significance.  "  C"est  un  usage  antique  adopte 
par  les  Chretiens,  parce  qu'il  n'  avait  aucun  caractere  essentiellment  religieux." — 
Martigny:  Did.,  p.  185. 

'  The  hermeneutical  principles  of  classical  epigraphy  are  equally  applicable  to  in- 
scriptions of  Christian  origin,  and  many  valuable  suggestions  can  be  found  in  the 
various  collections  of  inscriptions.  Among  the  older  may  be  mentioned  Morcelli : 
De  Stilo  Inscript.  lat. ;  among  the  later,  the  valuable  collections  of  Orelli,  Mommsen, 
de  Rossi,  Le  Blant,  Boeckh,  etc.  In  the  preface  of  the  Corpus  Inscript.  Crrcccarum, 
Boeckh  has  given  some  laws  that  have  not  been  superseded.  C.  T.  Newton :  Essays 
on  Art  and  Arclueology,  has  made  instructive  suggestions.  Also,  'McCaul :  Christian 
Epitaphs  of  the  First  Six  Centuries,  in  the  introductory  chapter,  furnishes  valuable 
information  as  to  methods  of  interpretation,  etc.  The  great  want  of  a  treatise  (ele- 
mentary) upon  Greek  epigraphy  seems  to  be  supplied  in  the  work  of  Reinach,  Salo- 
mon: Traite  d' Epigraphie  Grecque.     Paris,  1885. 

^  V.  Corpus  Itisc.  Latiiiarum,  vol.  v,  Nos.  1600-1 Y54. 


272  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

definite  date,'  it  lias  been  necessary  to  agree  upon  principles  to 
govern  in  ascertaining  the  chronology  of  those  lacking  in  this 
particular.  Upon  monuments  of  the  West  are  found  most  fre- 
quent indications  of  the  time  of  their  preparation.  In  this  the  hea- 
then and  Christian  monuments  alike  agree.  The  most  usual  means 
of  marking  the  date  is  by  the  consular  era,  the  year  being  some- 
times exj^ressed  by  figures,  sometimes  by  letters.  The  usual  abbre- 
viations for  consul  and  consular  occurring  on  the  pagan  monuments 
are  likewise  used  in  Christian  inscriptions:  COS,  CONS,  COSS, 
CONSS,  CC-SS-,  and  CS'  for  CONSVLE,  CONSVLIBVS.  This 
method  of  indicating  dates  continued  until  the  abolition  of  the  con- 
sular office.^  In  the  Orient,  however,  there  are  only  exceptional 
cases  of  the  use  of  the  consular  era.  In  the  fourth  century  first 
appears  the  title  CON.,  CONS  before  the  name,  and  the  added 
abbreviations  VC,  VVCC,  that  is,  vir{i)  clarissinucs{i)',  likewise  the 
mode  of  reckoning  after  the  consulate:  PC,  POST  CON,  POS,  PCC, 
etc.,  begins  in  the  same  century. 

With  A.  D.  312'  the  Romans  began  to  reckon  by  the  cycle  of 
indictions,  that  is,  by  cycles  of  fifteen  years,  or  the  time 

Indictions.  ,  i      ^      ,  .   ,  , 

at  the  end  ot  whicli  a  new  census  was  taken  and  new 
taxes  were  levied.  Examples  of  this  method  of  reckoning  occur  at 
an  earlier  date  in  the  East  than  in  the  West,  no  instance  appearing 
in  Rome  earlier  than  A.  D.  423,  and  in  Gaul  in  A,  D.  491,'  The 
usual  abbreviation  is  IND;  but  besides  this  are  met  INDIC,  IN- 
DICT, INDE. 

In  various  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire  the  date  was  sometimes 
Provincial  indicated  by  the  provincial  era.  In  Spain  the  burial 
eras.  monuments  follow  the  Spanish  era  (B.  C.  38);  in  North 

Africa  the  wra  Mauretanica  (A,  D.  40  ^)  is  met  with,  etc.  The  Di- 
on3^sian  era  does  not  appear  until  much  later.  The  month,  day  of 
the  month,  and  week  are  frequently  indicated  in  accordance  with 
Roman  custom.     The  interpretation  of  dates,  when  recorded,  be- 

'  Le  Blant,  op.  cii.,  says  that  of  720  inscriptions  in  Gaul,  only  147  bear  any  mark 
of  date  ;  of  200  in  Treves,  only  one  contains  a  definite  date  ;  of  about  11,000  described 
by  de  Rossi  in  his  first  volume  on  the  Christian  inscriptions  of  the  first  seven  cen- 
turies, only  1,347  contain  any  chronologic  indication  of  a  date,  and  of  this  number 
only  about  150  are  earlier  than  350  A.  D. 

^  Discontinued  under  Justinian,  and  legally  abolished  by  Leo  the  philosopher.  For 
table  of  abbreviations  used  in  Christian  epigraphy  see  Addenda  IV. 

^  Some  have  attributed  the  introduction  of  the  indiction  to  Constantine,  others  to 
Diocletian. 

*  Le  Blant :  Inscrip.  chret.  Gaule,  No.  388.  Some  insist  that  no  Christian  inscrip- 
tions reckoning  by  indictions  appear  at  Rome  earlier  than  A.  D.  517. 

'  Some  writers  say  B.  C.  33.     v.  p.  33,  note  2. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  EPIGRAPHY.  273 

comes  therefoi'e  a  matter  of  comparativel}'^  little  difficulty.     But  it 

is  far  more  difficult  to  fix  the  chronoloffv  of  inscriptions 

T  TT       •  11  1  Inscriptions 

that  bear  no  date.     Herein  appear  the  value  and  neces-    without  dates. 

sity  of  epigraphical  science. 

By  patient  and  protracted  comparative  stiidy  of  inscriptions 
whose  dates  are  well  ascertained,  the  epigraphist  has  General  princi- 
discovered  means  of  determining  with  considerable  ac-  p^^^- 
cui'acy  the  chronology  of  others.  Well-established  criteria  have 
thus  simplified  the  study  of  epigraphical  remains,  and  sound  scien- 
tific methods  have  been  developed  and  successfully  applied.  For 
the  chronology  of  Christian  inscrijjtions  the  following  particulars 
have  been  found  especially  important;  namely,  the  character  of  the 
writing,  (paleography/),  the  formularies,  the  proper  names,  and  the 
presence  or  absence  of  symbolic  characters,  as  the  cross,  the  mono- 
gram of  Christ,  ■^,  the  A  Q,  the  dove,  the  fish,  the  peacock,  etc. 
Also  the  peculiar  cycle  of  the  subjects  of  the  paintings  with  which 
the  inscriptions  may  be  found  associated.' 

Brief  and  simple  formulas,  without  statements  relative  to  the 
character  of  the  person,  or  the  place  and  time  of  burial,  special  indica- 
as  HIC  lACET,  HIC  REQUIESCIT,  etc.,  are  presuma-  «ons. 
bly  of  highest  antiquity.  The  introduction  of  special  circum- 
stances, such  as  HIC  lACET  IN  NOMINE  CHRISTI,  HIC  REQUI- 
ESCIT IN  PACE,  etc.,  usually  indicate  a  later  date.*  Also  minute 
descriptions  of  the  age,  and  of  the  day  of  death  and  burial,  the 
enumeration  of  praiseworthy  qualities,  the  metrical  form,  and  the 
stately  eulogium  are  indications  of  a  later  origin.^ 

With  respect  to  the  date  of  the  introduction  of  the  various  sym- 
bols there  is  wider  difference  of  opinion.  More  thorough  Date  ot  sym- 
study  of  these  interesting  Christian  remains  inclines  ^'o'^- 
the  historian  of  art,  as  well  as  the  epigraphist,  to  give  to  them  a 
greater  antiquity  than  was  formerly  allowed.  The  dove  was  for- 
merly believed  to  be  found  on  no   Christian  monument  of  an  ear- 

'  V.  De  Rossi :  Inscriptiones  Christiance  urbis  Romce,  etc.,  pp.  cviii  and  cix.  "  Ulud 
restat  inquirendum,  quomodo  inter  hos  ipsos  terminos  singularum  inscriptionura 
aetas  pressius  possit  definiri.     Id  exarainatis  litterarum  formis,"  etc. 

*  Of  the  close  of  the  fifth  and  the  following  centuries,  v.  Le  Blant :  Manuel  d'Epi- 
graphie  chretienne,  etc.,  p.  35;  also  Hubuer:   Inscriptiones  Hispanice  Ohrisiiance,  p.  ix. 

'  Compare  especially  de  Rossi :  Introduction  to  his  Inscriptiones  Christiana ;  his 
treatise— De  la  determination  chronol.  des  Inscrip.  cliret.  {Revue  ArcheoL,  1862).  Le 
Blant:  Inscrip.  chret.  Gaule,-p.  \\,  et  al. ;  J.  Ritter:  Decompositione  titul.  Christ.,  Berol. 
1877,  s.  12,  etal.  De  Rossi  and  Le  Blant,  while  independent  workers,  are  in  entire 
harmony  touching  the  principles  governing  the  interpretation  of  inscriptions.  There 
is  also  a  remarkable  agreement  in  tiieir  conclusions  respecting  the  most  important 
questions. 


274 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 


Her  date  than  A.  D.  268  in  Rome,  and  A.  D,  378  in  Gaul;*  but 
it  is  found  in  connection  with  inscriptions  now  believed  to  belong 
to  the  lirst  half  of  the  second  century. 


§  2.  The  Subject  and  Content  of  Inscriptmis. 
As  has  already  been  shown  (v.  p.  60,  et  seq.),  Christian  monuments 
Pagan  influ-  ^^  ^^®  ^^'^^  three  centuries  were  closely  associated  with 
ence  iu  Christ-  those  of  heathen  origin.  As  in  monuments  of  plastic 
ian  epigraphy.  ^^.^^  ^^  j^^  ^j^^  department  of  epigraphy,  the  influence 
of  pagan  thought  is  manifest.  Christian  art  liberated  itself  only 
by  degrees  from  its  first  teacher  and  guide,  and  developed  an 
independent  character.  This  holds  equally  true  of  Christian  in- 
scriptions. On  many  monuments  their  Christian  origin  cannot  at 
all  be  inferred  froni  their  contents.  In  some  other  instances  the 
added  expressions  IN  PACE,  EN  EIPHNH,  or  the  wishes  VIVAS 
IN  DEO,  VIVAS  IN  AETERNVM,  are  the  only  grounds  of  dis- 
tinction,* The  agreement  of  pagan  and  Christian  in  regarding 
death  as  a  sleep  is  sometimes  plainly  seen.  The  added  thought  of  a 
continuance  of  life  after  death  is  peculiarly  Christian.'     Even  in  the 

'  Le  Blant:  Inscript.  chret.  de  la  Gaule.     Paris,  1856. 

The  following  table  gives  his  ojjiuion  respecting  the  chronology  of  some  of  these 
symbols :  v.  p.  xiv. 


Symbol. 

ROME. 

Gaul. 

The  dove 

From  A  D  268-500,  524  ? 

Fro  a 

a 
11 

A.  D.  378-612. 

-?-       

"     298?  331-451  or 474.... 
"          "     355  'f  363-509 

"     347-493. 

A  Q.     

"     377-547. 

P 

"         "     355  to  between  542  and 
565 

about  A.  D.  400-525 

or  540. 

The  vase 

"         "     391-472  or  489 

about  A.  D.  450-563. 

The  cross   iu 
body  of  the 
scription. . . . 

the 
in- 

"     375  ?  407-527 

"     450-589 

A.  D.  448  till  after  585. 

Tlie   cross   at 
beginning  ol 
scriptions. . . 

the 
in- 

"     503  to about  680. 

V.  also  his  Manuel  d^ Epigraphie  chretienne,  pp.  27,  28,  29. 

'  The  expressions  IN  PACE,  EN  KIPHNH,  are  also  found  upon  Jewish  burial  mon- 
uments of  the  pre-ChriPtian  period,  v.  Le  Blant:  N.  621 ;  C.  I.  Gr.,  NN.  9902,  9909, 
9921,  9923,  etc.  Supi,  p.  177.  Victor  Schultze:  Arch.  Stud.,  s.  260,  N.  6,  et  al,  is 
of  opinion  that  ev  iiprjvri  is  proof  of  Christian  or  Jewish  origin. 

*  Raoul  Rochetto  {Deuxieme  Mem.  sur  les  ant.  chret,  p.  27)  is  thoroughly  consistent 
with  himself  in  claiming  that  xoif-^aodai  ev  slp^vri,  dormire  in  pace,  are  also  found  on 
pagan  burial  monuments.     But  this  opinion  seems  to  lack  firm  archajological  support. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   EPIGRAPHY.  275 

fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  after  Christianity  had  achieved  an  essen- 
tial triumph  in  its  fierce  encounter  with  paganism,  traces  of  heathen 
influence  are  present  in  Christian  epigraphy  as  well  as  in  plastic  art. 
The  abbreviation  D-  M-,  D-  M-  S*  (dis  manibus,  dis  manibus  sa- 
crum), occurs  on  monuments  of  the  third  and  fourth  century  (in 
Greek  0.  K.  deolg  KaTaxdovloig).  More  than  a  hundred  examples  of 
this  kind  have  already  been  found,  many  of  the  monuments  of  the 
third  and  fourth  centuries  belonging  to  this  class.  The  original  relig- 
ious significance  of  these  abbreviations  seems  in  a  later  period  to 
have  been  lost  sight  of,  and  they  became  a  mere  traditional  heading 
for  inscriptions  on  burial  monuments.  In  some  instances  the  mono- 
gram of  Christ,  ^,  Jp,,  stands  connected  with  the  D-  M' ;  thus 
^  D*M*  ^  or  D'  M'  ,_P,  S*.'  A  careful  examination  of  this  sub- 
ject has  led  Becker  to  the  following  conclusions:  Becker's  con- 

1.  The  signs  D-  M-,  D-  M*  S',  can  never  mean  any-    elusions. 
thing  else  than  J)iis  Manibus  or  Diis  Manibus  Sacricm.    The  trans- 
lation Deo  Magna,  or  Deo  Maximo,  finds  no  justification  in  any 
single  Christian  monument. 

2.  The  reason  for  placing  the  sign,  D-  M*,  on  Christian  burial 
monuments  is  found  in  its  very  commonness  of  use.  This  was  the 
customary  beginning  of  sepulchral  inscriptions,  and  thus  a  fashion 
was  established.''  At  length  this  formula  lost  its  original  signifi- 
cance, and  became  almost  meaningless.^ 

3.  The  opinion  that  the  Christians  purchased  in  the  shops  stones 
on  which  the  D-  M-  had  already  been  wrought  by  heathen  artists  is 
scarcely  tenable.     It  seems  to  lack  solid  foundation. 

4.  With  respect  to  their  chronology,  these  monuments  do  not  per- 
tain to  the  earliest  period  of  Christian  inscriptions.  The  majority 
belong  to  the  third  century,  and  to  the  age  of  Constantine.^ 

'  V.  Spano  :  Scoperte  Archeol,  p.  39.     F.  Becker:  Die  heidniscTie  Weiheformel  D.  M. 
2  We  must   trace   the  later  HIC  lACET,  and  the  Germ.   "HIER   RUHET  IN 
GOTT,"  and  the  English  "  HERE  LIES"  to  the  same  source. 

^  In  one  instance,  at  least,  there  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  protest  against  this  use  of 
the  D.  M. ;  since  the  Christian  A  i2  is  associated  with  it,  as  in  the  following  from 
Anagni,  quoted  by  V.  Sciiultze:  Die  Katakomhen,  p.  250. 

aD     Mw 
VALERIA   RODE 
VALERIAE  RODE 
NI  MATRI  CAR. 
BEN 
MERENTI   EC 

J: 

*v.  Becker:  Op.  cit.,  p.  65,  et  seq.  Also,  Gustav  Greeven :  Die  Siglen  D.  M.  auf 
altchrhtlichen  Grabschriften  und  ihre  Bedeutung.     Rheydt,  1897. 


276  ARCHEOLOGY  OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

The  expressions  occasionally  found  on  Christian  and  Jewish 
Views  of  death  n^ouuments  seem  to  indicate  a  want  of  universal  belief 
and  of  the  fu-  in  the  reality  of  a  future  life.  Inscriptions  like  the  f ol- 
^"'■*'-  lowing,  GAPCI  TATA  MHTHP  OTAEIC  AOANATOC,'  as 

well  as  the  designation  of  the  grave  as  domus  ceterna,  perpetua  sedes, 
olKog  ald)VLog,  show  that  the  Christian  thought  is  yet  influenced  by  the 
heathen  doubt  respecting  the  future.  It  lingers  as  an  unpleasant  and 
entangling  inheritance,  and  proves  the  power  of  traditional  systems, 
or  argues  the  unconscious  use  of  a  language  whose  original  signifi- 
cance had  already  faded  out,  but  whose  form  remained.  The  desire 
that  the  body  should  be  interred,  in  order  to  secure  the  repose  of  the 
spirit,  was  quite  genei'al  among  the  Gi-eeks.  Many  precautions  were 
taken  that  the  tombs  might  remain  undisturbed.  The  penalties 
threatened  to  the  despoilers  and  plunderers  of  graves  are  often 
expressed  in  very  strong  terms.'  The  necessity  of  burial  as  a  con- 
dition of  future  rest,  and  of  attaining  to  a  resurrection,  is  also  some- 
times expressed  in  these  burial  inscriptions.  The  longings,  laments, 
prayers,  and  execrations  found  upon  Christian  monuments  are  occa- 
sionally in  almost  exact  imitation  of  the  heathen  custom;'  although 
the  most  incredulous  must  be  persuaded  that  the  general  spirit  of 
these  inscriptions  is  that  of  patience,  forgiveness,  love,  cheerfulness, 
and  hope.  Occasionally  is  met  the  "  eternal  memory,"  the  "  eternal 
sleep,"  the  "raging  Tartarus,"  the  "Elysian  grove,"  the  "anger 
of  Styx,"  etc.  At  times  quotations  from  the  heathen  poets  are 
found,  and  the  terms  perire  and  vita  privatus  are  used  to  express 
dying.  Indeed,  in  the  Christian  inscriptions  that  syncretism  is  no- 
ticed which  becomes  so  general  during  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries 

'  From  San  Ciriaco  in  Ancona.  v.  Buonarroti,  Osservazioni  sopra  alcuni  frammenti 
di  vasi  anticM  di  vetro,  etc.,  Fireuze,  1716,  p.  169. 

2  Comp.  Wood,  J.  T :  Discoveries  at  Ephesus.  Inscriptions  from  tombs,  sarcophagi, 
etc.,  p.  7,  No.  6. 

Et  Tig  TovTov,  etc. 

"  If  any  one  shall  either  destroy  or  throw  down  this  altar  or  tomb,  or  shall  erase  a 
letter,  he  shall  pay  to  the  exchequer  2,500  denarii." 

^  Corpus  Inscrip.  Lat,  ii,  N.  5,415,  is  an  inscription  from  the  basilica  of  St.  Julian 
at  Como  running,  ADIVRO  VVS  OMNES  XPIANI  ET  TE  |  CVSTVDE  BEATI 
IVLIANIf  DO  ETf  TRE  |  MENDA  DIE  IVDICII  VT  HVNC  SEPVLCRVM 
n  u  nqAM  VLLO  TEMPORE  VIOLETVR  |  sed  coiiservet  (ur)  usque  ad  finem  muudi 
I  ut  prosim  sine  impedimento  in  vita  |  redire  cum  venerit  que  judicaturus  est  vivos 
et  mortuos.  .  .  .  See  also  Reinesius :  Syntagma  Inscrip.,  xx,  435  ;  Corpus  Inscrip.  GrcR., 
iv,  nn.  9,303,  9,802;  Ritter:  De  Composit.  tit.  Christ.,  i,  p.  36,  seq. ;  Bosio:  Boma 
Sotterranea,  p.  436,  where  the  imprecations  against  those  who  disturb  the  graves  of 
the  departed  seem  to  reach  the  climax  of  severity:  MALE  PEREAT  INSEPVLTVS 
lACEAT  NON  RESVRGAT  GUM  IVDA  PARTEM  HABEAT  SIQIS  SEPVL- 
CRAM  HViSTC  VIOLAVERIT. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  EPIGRAPHY.  277 

in  every  department  of  thought  and  life.  Great  care  is,  therefore, 
necessary  in  their  interpretation,  and  the  wide  difference  between 
the  Christian  and  pagan  view  of  death  as  taught  by  these  monu- 
ments, which  has  been  claimed  by  some  zealous  writers,  must  be  ac- 
cepted with  caution.     We  are  not,  however,  to  suppose   ^  ^ 

,  ,         ,  j>  /•   •  1    •        1  others   plainly 

that  the  clear  statement  or  faith  in  the  resurrection  and  and  peculiarly 
in  immortal  life  is  wanting  in  Christian  inscriptions.  The  ^'^"^^^'*^°- 
Christian  Church  was  much  slower  to  liberate  itself  from  the  influence 
of  antiquity  in  the  case  of  inscriptions  than  in  the  case  of  the  plastic 
arts.  Only  very  seldom  is  this  freedom  attained  during  the  pre- 
Constantine  period.  While  we  cannot  doubt  as  to  the  origin  of 
these  inscriptions,  the  writers  of  the  early  Church  seem  content  to 
indicate  the  Christian  sentiment  by  a  single  word  or  phrase,  rather 
than  by  the  entire  writing.  This  should  not  cause  surprise,  since  to 
devise  an  entirely  new  terminology  or  method  of  expression  would 
require  much  time  and  study,  and  many  of  the  modes  of  thought 
then  extant  were  entirely  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  new  religion. 
Hence  we  find  the  ancient  acclamations  to  the  dead  freely  used  in 
Christian  inscriptions,  such  as  vale,  ave,  have,  salve,  XAIPE,  etc. 

The  expressions  iti  pace,  EN  EIPHNH,  c?<m  pace,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  reqiciescat,  or  the  words,  spirlttcs  tuus  in  pace,  pax  tibi,  in 
pace  domini,  pax  tecum,  etc.,  seem  to  embody  more  perfectly  the 
Christian  spirit  and  belief.  It  is  when  the  condition  of  the  departed 
is  expressed  in  words  of  hope  or  congratulation  that  the  contrast 
between  pagan  and  Christian  thought  relative  to  a  future  life  ap- 
pears in  strongest  relief.  The  earnest  hopes  contained  in  the  sim- 
ple VIVAS,  VIVES,  VIVIS,  VIVIT,  IN  AETERNO,  IN  CHRISTO,  IN 
DEO,  IN  GLORIA  DEI,  IN  DOMINO  lESV,  etc.,  are  peculiar  to 
the  Christian  inscriptions,  expressing  a  cycle  of  thought  entirely 
unknown  to  heathen  epigi'aphy.  The  belief  in  a  resurrection  and 
a  future  life  is  here  clouded  by  no  doubt  which  might  have  come 
from  association  with  the  pagan  world.  Through  a  wide  geographic 
and  chronologic  range  these  assurances  of  a  future  life  by  the 
power  of  Christ  are  met.  In  Rome,  Gaul,  Africa,  and  the  Orient, 
extending  through  centuries  of  time,  they  frequently  occur.' 

§  3.  Application  of  Principles  and  their  Illustration  hy  Means  of  Specific 

Examples. 

Plate  III  is  a  reduced  reproduction  of  Plate  X  of  Roller's  Cata- 
combes  de  Home,  which  was  engraved  from  a  photograph  of  a  por- 

'  V.  Examples  in  de  Rossi,  Le  Blant,  Boldetti,  Corpus  Inscript.  Grcec,  Corpus  In- 
script.  Latin.,  Roller,  Kraus,  Seluiltze,  etc.  The  number  is  large,  and  the  criticism 
and  commentary  upon  them  have  been  exhaustive. 


278  ARCHEOLOGY  OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

tion  of  the  Christian  Museum  of  St,  John  Lateran  at  Rome.'  It 
contains  fifty  epitaphs,  which  are  illustrated  by  some  of  the  most 
prized  of  the  Christian  symbols. 

No.  1  is  a  monument  to  Severa,  whose  bust  adorns  the  slab.  The 
scene  here  represented  is  the  visitation  of  the  magi, 
bearing  gifts  to  the  infant  Christ,  who  rests  upon  the 
lap  of  Jiis  mother.  The  star  is  nearly  above  the  head  of  Mary,  while 
a  figure  behind,  whose  character  has  been  a  matter  of  controversy, 
extends  the  hand  in  blessing,  or  to  point  out  the  star  to  the  wise 
men.  The  inscription,  in  Deo  vivas,  is  found  veiy  frequently  in 
the  third  century,  but  does  not  pertain  to  it  exclusively.  The 
epigraphist  is  rather  inclined  to  place  this  in  either  the  third  or 
fourth  century.  It  was  found  in  a  cemetery  on  the  Via  Salaria 
Nova,  Rome. 

Nos.  2,  3,  and  4,  are  instances  of  the  Good  Shepherd  upon  the 
burial  monuments.  The  simple  inscription  on  No.  4,  Florentius  in 
l)acae,  would  lead  us  to  regard  it  as  of  very  early  origin.  Much  is 
said  about  the  symbolism  of  these  and  similar  scenes.  A  class  of 
archaeologists  would  say  that  the  trees  are  the  symbol  of 
paradise,  to  which  the  soul  has  departed  in  peace  under 
the  kindly  care  of  the  Good  Shepherd.  This  is  probably  an  unwar- 
ranted extension  of  the  principle  of  symbolism,  since  these  trees 
could  more  properly  be  regarded  as  ornamental,  to  complete  the 
balancing  of  the  scene. 

The  Good  Shepherd  idea  is  likewise  prominent  in  Nos.  5,  6,  V,  9, 
Good  shep-  12,  and  14.  We  believe  the  presence  of  the  tree  in  5,  6, 
herd.  and  9  can  be  more  naturally  and  justly  considered  ar- 

tistic than  symbolic.     Nos.  5,  43,  44,  and  45   embody  the  class  of 
figures  called    Grants,  which  have  been  already  examined.     In  the 
Roman  monuments  these  figures  appear  in  the  frescos. 

Grants.  ,.  •  .°  .  ,      .  .      .  , 

but  not  often  in  connection  with  inscriptions ;  else- 
wliere  they  occur  frequently  in  connection  with  inscriptions,  as  in 
Gaul,  and  among  the  Aquileia  fragments.'*  No.  5  is  from  the  most 
ancient  portion  of  San  Calisto,  Rome,  reaching  back,  it  is  believed, 
to  the  first  half  of  the  third  century.  The  paleographic  suggestion 
would  agree  with  the  other  evidences  respecting  this  date.  The 
Greek,  MOTCHC  ZS2N  EHOIHCEN  ATi2  KAI  TH  TTNEKI,  is  not 
an  unusual  method  of  expressing  the  dedication  of  a  monument  by 
the  living  to  the  dead. 

'  The  plates  here  used  in  illustration  of  Christian  epigraphy  are  for  the  most  part 
reduced  from  those  in  Roller's  magnificent  work. 

^  V.  Wilpert,  in  Ephemerh  Saloiiiiana,  1894;  also  Corpus  In k.  Lnt.,  vol.  v,  Nos. 
1644,  1714,  etc. 


Plate  ill.— Christian  inscriptions  associated  with  Christian  symbols. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  EPIGRAPHY.  281 

Nos.  8  and  9  illustrate  the  commingling  of  Latin  and  Greek  in 
the  same  inscription,  No.  8,  and  the  omission  of  letters,  commingling 
COIVGI  for  CONIVGI,  No.  9.  They  have  a  curious  of  symbols. 
combination  of  symbols.  No.  8  has  for  a  central  figure  the  Good 
Shepherd,  on  one  side  of  whom  is  a  lion,  on  the  other  some  devour- 
ing monster  whose  character  is  not  well  defined.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  these  may  represent  the  foes  that  threatened  the  life 
of  the  sheep  which  the  Good  Shepherd  will  rescue.  The  anchor 
and  the  ^  plainly  point  to  the  ground  of  the  Christian's  hope. 
The  right  hand  figure  in  No.  9  is  a  rude  form  of  the  ark,  toward 
which  the  dove  is  flying,  bearing  in  its  beak  the  olive  branch.     In 

No.  49  this  scene  is  repeated.     This  is  a  very  frequent 

Tlie  Church, 
symbol  of  the  nature  and  office  work  of  the  Church — 

the  ark  of  safety  bearing  its  precious  freight  over  the  dangerous 

sea  of  life.' 

The  frequent  recurrence  of  the  anchor  (8,  18,  19,  21,  23,  24,  26, 
27,  28)  is  very  noteworthy,  since  these  are  found  on  monuments  dis- 
covered in  and  near  Rome.  So  the  frequent  use  of  the  fish  on  these 
burial  monuments  (Nos.  11,  16,  20,  22)  has  been  discussed  elsewhere 
{v.  pp.  V7-S3).  No.  15  represents  a  scene  frequently  met  in  the  fres- 
cos, and  not  seldom  found  on  the  sculjDtured  monuments.  Raising  of  Laz- 
The  raising  of  Lazarus  by  Him  who  is  the  Life  was  ^rus. 
symbolic  of  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  which  was  the  central 
truth  of  the  apostolic  preaching,  and  the  source  of  solace  to  a  de- 
spised and  oftentimes  suffering  Church.  No.  10  is  also  the  repre- 
sentation of  a  mummy-like  figure  in  a  tomb,  surmounted  by  the  ^, 
the  hope  of  the  deceased. 

The  ^  monuments  have  been  elsewhere  discussed,  and  the  aid 
which  they  furnish  in  determining  the  chronology  of  inscriptions 
with  which  they  are  associated  has  been  pointed  out.  Nos.  29, 
30,  31  are  noteworthy  as  containing  the  stoasUca  in  connection 
with  other  symbols;  with  the  simplest  form  of  the  cross  in  a  circle, 
as  emblem  of  eternity,  in  No.  31,  with  the  B*  M-  in  No.  29,  and 
with  the  ^  in  No.  30.  The  origin  of  this  symbol  has  been  else- 
where examined  {v.  pp.  84,  85).  No.  32  has,  in  connection  with  the 
name  AGAPIS,  an  unusual  combination  of  symbols,  ^^jgyg^j  ^^^^ 
The  Tau,  or  an  obscure  form  of  cross,  is  directly  asso-  bi nation  of 
ciated  with  the  A  Q  and  with  the  -^.  It  may  well  symbols, 
suggest  the  question  whether  the  sculptor  had  in  mind  the  idea  of 
the  crucifixion.     The  crucifix,  wherein  is  a  direct  and  literal  repre- 

'  Even  Hasenclever:  Der  altchristliche  GrdbersmucJc,  Braunschweig,  1886,  s.  114, 
concedes  that  this  figure  of  the  ship  and  ark  are  used  as  religious  symbols,  and  not 
simply  to  indicate  the  maritime  industries  of  the  Christians  of  Alexandria. 


283  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

sentation  of  the  divine  Victim  upon  the  cross,  has  not  yet  found 
its  way  into  the  art  of  the  Church;  the  early  Christians  prefer  to 
sliadow  forth  this  supreme  event  under  the  garb  of  symbolism. 
Still,  it  may  be  diihcult  to  intei-pret  this  symbolism  in  any  other  way 
than  by  the  suggestion  of  sacrifice  upon  the  cross.  Nos.  43,  44,  45 
have  associated  with  the  central  figure — an  orante — certain  marks 
and  characters  which  are  quite  infrequent  in  monumental  art.  The 
two  busts  in  43  and  44  have  an  uncertain  reference.  The  sugges- 
tion that  they  may  represent  the  chief  apostles  may  have  something 
in  its  favor,  yet  there  is  nothing  to  absolutely  confirm  it.  No.  44 
has  likewise  on  each  side  of  the  praying  figure  a  candelabrum  resting 
upon  a  tripod  of  dolphins.  The  style  of  these  candelabra  would 
point  to  a  Byzantine  influence,  and  would  suggest  a  date  as  late  as 
the  sixth  or  seventh  century.  That  evidence  is  here  found  that 
Tapers  in  the  lighted  tapers  were  used  in  the  forms  of  worship  may 
Church  service.  ,^ot  be  accepted;  but  that  lights  had  already  been  intro- 
duced into  parts  of  the  service  is  generally  conceded.  Above  the 
orante,  in  No.  45,  is  seemingly  the  representation  of  the  choir  of  a 
basilica.  Here,  too,  the  tapers  are  introduced;  but  the  interpi-eta- 
tion  is  obscure  and  unsatisfactory.  Probably  the  artist  had  in  view 
the  ornamentation  of  the  tomb,  and  was  guided  in  his  work  by  the 
necessity  of  a  proper  balancing  of  parts.  As  before  observed,  the 
introduction  of  some  of  these  figures  seems  plainly  for  decora- 
tive purposes;  this  view  is  more  reasonable  than  to  violate  the 
principles  of  symbolism  by  suggesting  some  unfounded  or  fanciful 
interpretation.' 

Plate  IV,  containing  a  representation  of  sixty-five  sepulchral  monu- 
ments, is  also  from  a  photograph  of  a  section  of  the  Lateran 
Museum,  Rome."  It  is  designed  to  illustrate  the  symbolism  in 
prevalent  use  among  the  early  Christians.  Many  of  the  subjects 
contained  in  Plate  III  are  here  repeated.  The  oratits,  as  found  in 
Nos.  3,  4,  5,  6,  8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14,  preserve  the  general  character 
of  these  figui-es  as  they  are  met  in  the  frescos.  The  presence  of  the 
^  in  most  of  these  vouches  for  their  Christian  character,  and  also 
enables  us  to  fix  their  chronology  as  not  earlier  than  the  beginning 
of  the  fourth  century,  nor  later  than  the  latter  quarter  of  the  fifth 
century,  if  the  monument  is  of  Roman  origin,  nor  later  than  the 

'  It  is  not  proposed  to  enter  into  the  explanation  of  every  inscription  or  burial 
monument  represented  in  the  plates.  They  are  given  as  samples  of  the  style  of  in- 
scriptions which  illustrate  the  principles  before  enunciated.  To  leave  a  portion  of 
each  plate  to  be  deciphered  by  tjie  student  may  contribute  to  a  greater  facility  in 
reading  and  interpretation. 

»  After  Roller. 


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Plate  IV, — Christian  Symbols  on  Burial  Monuments. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   EPIGRAPHY.  285 

close  of  the  fifth  century,  if  found  in  Gaul.'  The  simplicity  of  No. 
11,  Alexandra  in  pace,  as  well  as  the  accompanying  figure  of  the 
dove,  might  suggest  a  monument  of  the  middle  of  the  third  century 
or  the  beginning  of  the  fourth. 

In  Nos.  15,  16,  17,  18  is  found  repeated  the  box-like  ark,  believed 
to  be  the  symbol  of  the  Church,  and  of  safety  to  all  who  enter  it. 

The  frequent  recurrence  of   the   dove    upon  burial   monuments 

has  given  occasion  for  much  writing  on  its  sisrnificance. 

.  o  o  rpjjg  dove. 

As  with  respect  to  other  figures,  so  here,  too,  is  wide 

difference  of  opinion.  Interpreters  who  would  reduce  Christian 
symbolism  to  its  minimum  of  meaning,  or  regard  it  as  only  imi- 
tative of  the  pagan  thought,  would  see  in  the  dove  little  more 
than  an  appropriate  and  pleasing  decoration  for  the  monument, 
with  no  symbolic  significance;  while  another  class,  who  are  finding 
in  each  object  connected  with  the  Christian  monuments  a  hidden 
yet  important  lesson,  would  in  every  instance  attach  to  this  figure 
of  the  dove  the  idea  of  innocence,  of  purity,  etc.,  as  illustrative  of 
the  character  of  the  deceased,  or  as  symbolic  of  the  soul  itself,  which 
finds  its  rest  and  assurance  in  the  presence  of  Christ — the  ^.  In 
Nos.  24,  38,  it  is  very  difficult  for  the  observer  to  be  convinced 
that  any  thing  more  than  a  pleasing  ornamentation  was  designed; 
yet  in  these,  and  in  monuments  like  27,  28,  29,  the  school  of  ex- 
treme symbolism  has  professed  to  find  a  reference  to  the  eucharist: 
the  grapes  suggesting  the  wine,  the  wine  suggesting  the 
words  of  Jesus,  "  I  will  not  drink  henceforth  of  this 
fruit  of  the  vine  until  that  day  when  I  drink  it  new  with  you  in  my 
Father's  kingdom"  (Matt,  xxvi,  29).  In  No.  50  is  found  a  very 
unusual  combination  for  a  Christian  monument.  The  inscription, 
^lla  Bictorina  posuit  Aurelice  Probce,  "^lia  Victorina  set  this  up 
to  Aurelia  Proba,"  is  a  very  common  form.  The  peacock  was  like- 
wise used  as  a  symbol  of  immortality ;  but  the  other  figure  is  obscure 

in  its  reference.     If  it  is  to  be  resrarded  as  a  lion,  then 
1  •  1        •  n  ^1     ■  1      T  •  /<  '^^^  lion, 

the  suggestion  that  it  may  refer  to  Christ  as  the  Lion  or 

the  tribe  of  Judah  may  not  be  unreasonable,  and  the  whole  monu- 
ment may  teach  that  the  immortality  of  the  departed  soul  was 
secured  through  this  One  who  had  been  victor  over  death,  whose 
power  and  worthiness  are  the  subject  of  the  inspiring  apocalyptic 
vision  given  in  Rev.,  chap.  v. 

In  62,  63  is  the  recurrence  of  the  ship  or  ark,  with  the  addition 
of  the  tower  or  lighthouse.     It  may  not  violate  any  law  of  sym- 
bolism to  regard  this  tower   as  the  goal  of  the  earthly  voyaging, 
the  eternal  mansions  which  are  to  receive  the  faithful  wanderer 
'  Le  Blant:  Manuel  d'Epigraphie  cliretienne,  pp.  27-29. 


286  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

over  life's  perilous  sea,  "Firmia  Victora,  who  lived  sixty -five 
years,"  is  the  simple  inscription;  the  symbols  tell  a  more  significant 
story. 

The  palm-branch  is  of  very  frequent  occurrence  on  the  marbles,  as 
The  palm  ^^  ^he  frescos.  In  Nos.  54,  55,  and  56  this  appears  as 
branch.  tj^e  prominent  symbol.     It  is  not  difticult  to  interpret 

this,  since  here  is  the  frequently  recurring  reference  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse to  the  victory  which  the  redeemed  shall  finally  achieve,  as  in 
60,  61  the  like  triumph  is  symbolized  by  the  chaplet  or  crown. 

Plate  V  represents  inscriptions  from  the  first  half  of  the  third 
century.  The  first  four  give  the  simplest  expressions  used  upon 
the  burial  monuments  of  the  early  Christians.  Decessit,  often  abre- 
simpie  inscrip-  viated  to  dec,  dep.  depositus,  sep.  sepidtus,  are  the 
tions.  most  common  designations  of  Christian  interment.     The 

Greek  KATAOECIC  is  most  nearly  synonymous.  Rather  it  would 
be  more  strictly  correct  to  say  that  this  is  the  original  word,  since 
the  Greek  language  is  usually  the  earlier  in  Christian  inscx'iptions 
of  Rome,  and  depositus  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  adequate  transla- 
tion of  the  Greek  KATAOECIC.  It  is  generally  agreed  that  the 
primary  idea  of  these  words  is  here  preserved,  namely,  that  of  a 
temporary  deposit,  in  distinction  from  the  idea  of  a  per- 

Slgniflcance.  ^  i    A       ,  i  •    i       i       ,         ,  ,, 

manent  and  final  act,  which  the  heathen  generally  ex- 
pressed by  the  word  positus  and  compositus.  This  is  not  an  unim- 
portant fact  when  the  view  of  death  entertained  by  the  pre-Constan- 
tine  Church  is  considered. 

No.  5  has  few  distinguishing  marks  of  a  Christian  inscription. 
Its  fulsome  characterization  of  the  ofiices  and  relations  of  the  de- 
ceased is  not  in  harmony  with  the  usual  simplicity  of  the  second  or 
third  century.  The  fact  that  he  was  of  the  emperor's  household  as 
well  as  his  f reedman  is  clearly  stated ;  but  that  a  Christian  should 
receive  appointment  to  these  important  offices  at  the  hand  of  a  very 
cruel  and  profligate  ruler  has  given  rise  to  doubt  as  to  the  Christian 
Christians  in  character  of  the  inscription  itself.  It  is,  however,  sup- 
governmental  posed  that  here,  as  in  case  of  other  well  known  examples, 
this  Uhertinus  may  have,  quietly,  and  unknown  to  his 
patron,  maintained  his  associations  with  the  Christian  Church,  yet, 
from  his  superior  fidelity  to  the  duties  of  his  offices,  have  been  a 
favorite  with  the  emperor.  Some  aid  to  understand  No.  5  is  fur- 
nished by  the  very  mutilated  inscription  on  the  back  part  of  this 
sarcophagus,  in  which  this  name  of  Prosenes  again  occurs.  By  this 
means  the  Christian  character  of  the  monument  is  proved.  The  ex- 
pression receptus  ad  Deum  is  not  found  in  pagan  epigraphy. 

No,  6  connects  with  its  inscription  two  well-accepted  Christian 


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Pi-ATK  v.— Epitaphs  from  First  Half  of  the  Third  Century. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   EPIGRAPHY.  289 

symbols,  thus  furnishing  evidence  of  its  character,  while  its  date, 
A,  D.  234,  is  well  ascertained  by  the  consular  indications.  No.  7 
also  has  its  consular  date  clearly  inscribed.  Without  such  positive 
information,  other  characteristics  of  the  inscription  would  suggest  a 
somewhat  earlier  origin.  The  expression  Didcissima  has  generally 
been  regarded  as  of  a  very  early  date — usually  pertaining  to  the 
second  century,  yet  not  confined  to  it.  The  phrase  de  saeculo  recessit 
is  somewhat  peculiar,  but  finds  illustration  in  other  monuments, 
even  in  some  that  are  non-Christian.  It  probably  is  to  be  under- 
stood in  the  sense  of  this  condition,  state,  or  life,  in  contrast  with 
that  upon  which  the  departed  has  entered. 

In  the  fragment  No,  9  there  is  little  of  special  interest  except  the 
word  dormit.  It  is  hardly  ever  found  in  the  classical  epigraphy,  and 
then  ii\  a  sense  radically  different  from  that  which  the  Christians 
attached  to  it.  Much  has  been  said  about  the  doctrinal  import  of 
this  term.  It  has  been  quoted  in  support  of  the  opinion  rpjj^  gignifl- 
that  the  common  teaching  of  the  Church  of  the  third  cance  of  dor- 
century  was  that  there  was  a  slumber  of  the  soul  between 
death  and  the  final  resurrection.  Such  use  of  a  term  in  epigraphic 
study  would  hardly  be  justifiable.  It  must  be  taken  in  connection 
with  other  and  equally  important  expressions  which  would  point 
to  a  contrary  doctrine.  When  we  consider  the  terms  vivas,  bivas, 
vives,  etc.,  and  the  accompanying  words,  i7i  Deo,  in  Ghristo,  etc., 
we  should  hesitate  to  build  on  such  a  form  as  dormit  a  whole 
doctrinal  fabric  respecting  the  intermediate  state  of  the  dead.  It 
seems  more  probable  that  by  the  word  dormit  there  would  be  con- 
veyed something  of  the  same  significance  as  by  the  term  in  pace  ; 
a  condition  so  grateful  to  the  toiler,  watcher,  and  soldier  after  the 
severe  labors  and  conflicts  of  life  are  over. 

Two  expressions  in  No.  10  arrest  attention:  O  AOTAOC  TOT 
0£or,  and  nAPetJwKe  THN  4'TX??v  TS  eE£2.  The  whole  inscription 
is  worthy  of  study.  Nos.  13  and  14  are  good  examples  of  the  inele- 
gant and  careless  style  of  very  many  of  the  Christian  inscriptions. 
They  would  indicate  both  great  haste  in  the  execution  carelessness  in 
of  the  chiseling,  and  a  great  want  of  culture  and  taste  preparation  of 
on  the  part  of  the  sculptors.  The  presence  of  the  roll  in  ^'^*^"p  ^*^°^" 
No.  13  may  have  reference  to  the  teaching  work  of  the  deceased.  The 
reference  of  the  urn  is  obscure,  but  the  expression  in  Deo  pax  is  full 
of  rich  suggestion  as  pertaining  to  a  monument  belonging  probably 
to  the  third  century. 

Plate  VI,  which  is  designed  to  be  a  collection  of  monuments 
whose  inscriptions  are  more  or  less  dogmatic  in  character,  is  also 
from  the  Christian  Museum  of  the  Lateran  palace,  Rome.   It  has  been 


290  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

claimed  that  the  20,000  Christian  inscriptions  preserved  at  Rome 
Fewness  of  in-  are  not  more  than  one  seventh  part  of  those  which  sur- 
d^"maticchar-  ^'^'^^j  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^is  large  number  very  few  are  of  doc- 
acter.  trinal  significance.    Generally  the  statement  of  doctrine 

is  not  direct,  but  the  belief  is  left  to  be  inferred. 

In  noticing  the  inscriptions  of  this  plate  we  are  impressed  with 
the  ardent  wish  that  the  departed  may  live  with  God,  or  in  Christ; 
Ardent  longing  clearly  pointing  to  a  faith  in  the  conscious  union  of  the 
for  future  life,  dead  with  the  Divine  in  the  future  world.  In  the  great 
variety  of  forms,  Mves,  vibes,  ZJS,  vibos,  bibas,  vive,  is  expressed 
the  longing  desire,  the  earnest  prayer.  The  companionship  of  the 
new  life  after  death,  iti  Deo,  Deo,  EN  GEfl,  M^  Dornino  Zesu,  in 
Christo,  in  -^^  is  real,  and  with  the  source  of  all  life  and  joy.  There 
seems  to  be  no  thought  of  waiting  for  a  full  fruition  to  be  realized 
in  some  far-off,  indefinite  future,  but  of  a  present,  immediate  bless- 
edness in  the  enjoyment  of  all  that  is  implied  in  being  absent  from 
the  body  and  present  with  the  Lord.' 

The  frequent  recurrence  of  the  in  pace  is  a  further  indication  of 
other  indica-  the  assurance  which  the  promises  of  Christ  have  in- 
iief°^in  ^a'^con-  ^pi^'^d,  that  the  departed  one  is  in  a  condition  of  repose, 
tinned  life.  Moreover,  the  use  of  refric/eret  implies  a  state  of  blessed 
activity  such  as  is  so  significantly  conveyed  by  the  thought  of  spirit- 
ual refreshing.  The  various  methods  of  indicating  the  immediate, 
active,  conscious  happiness  of  the  soul  after  death  leave  no  doubt 
with  respect  to  the  supporting  power  of  the  belief  of  the  early 
Christians  in  the  promise  of  Christ  to  his  disciples :  "  I  go  to  prepare 
a  place  for  you,  ,  ,  .  that  where  I  am  ye  may  be  also  "  (John  xiv, 
2,  3). 

Again,  the  expressions  in  eternum,  EI2  AIi2NA,  indicate  that  this 
Also  life  in  per-  life,  this  peace,  this  refreshment  with  God  and  with  Christ 
petuity.  the  Lord  are  to  be  in  perpetuity.     "And  they  shall 

reign  for  ever  and  ever  "  (Rev.  xxii,  5).  The  power  of  this  faith  in 
the  immediateness  and  perpetuity  of  the  promised  fruition  might 
well  keep  them  steadfast,  immovable,  loyal  to  their  divine  Master, 
and  ever  ready  to  attest  this  loyalty  by  a  martyr's  confession. - 

Damasus  occupied  the  pontifical  chair  from  A.  D.  366  to  A.  D.  385. 
The  Damasene  His  zeal  for  the  Church  was  well-nigh  consuming.  For 
inscriptions.  tjjg  martyred  heroes  who  had  witnessed  their  faith  by 
suffering  he  entertained  a  veneration  akin  to  worship.  The  graves 
of  these  faithful  ones  were  hallowed  spots.     His  earnestness  was  so 

'  These  monuments  should  be  studied  in  connection  witii  those  bearing  the  expres- 
sions "  dorniit,"  "  dormuit,"  etc. 

'  The  quulificAtion  of  these  statements  lias  already  been  given,     v.  p.  254. 


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Plate  VII. — Inscriptions  of  Pope  Damasus.     Fourth  Ceiiturv. 


EARLY    CHRISTIAN   EPIGRAPHY.  293 

great  that  the  practice  of  burial  in  the  cemeteries,  which  had  been 
largely  discontinued,  once  more  became  almost  universal  at  Rome. 
He  was  careful  to  decorate  the  principal  cemeteries  with  beautifully 
prepared  inscriptions,  in  which  were  found  high  eulogiums  of  the 
martyred  saints,  and  his  restorations  of  the  tombs  of  the  worthies 
were  rich  and  characteristic.  These  inscriptions  have  a  character 
so  marked  that  they  are  readily  distinguished  by  the  Their  charac- 
skillful  epigraphist.  They  have  great  regularity,  are  teristics. 
most  beautifully  and  sharply  chiseled,  and  have  been  preserved 
in  much  of  their  original  integrity.  Often  they  become  the  means 
of  positive  dogmatic  statements,  from  which  an  almost  complete 
crulo  might  be  framed.  While  the  panegyric  is  often  extrava- 
gant, it  is  nevertheless  tempered  by  a  spirit  of  love  and  venera- 
tion that  disarms  criticism  and  awakens  lively  sympathy.  Liv- 
ing at  a  time  when  the  purity  of  the  Christian  faith  had  been 
greatly  menaced,  and  when  the  severe  morality  of  the  pre-Constan- 
tine  period  had  yielded  to  the  current  worldliness,  it  is  not  won- 
derful that  this  zealous  leader  found  delight  in  calling  the  atten- 
tion of  a  decaying  age  to  the  self-sacrificing  lives  of  saints  who  had 
made  the  Church  illustrious  in  the  days  of  its  sorest  persecutions. 

Plate  VII  gives  a  good  idea  of  these  inscriptions.  The  clearness  and 
regularity  of  the  incisions,  as  well  as  the  metrical  character  of  these 
epitaphs,  are  manifest.  Also  from  No.  4  may  be  seen  the  results  of 
the  painstaking  work  of  de  Rossi  in  collecting  the  mi-  Tj,g  method  of 
nutest  fragments  of  marbles  bearing  these  Damasene  complements. 
inscriptions,  and  afterward  completing  the  slab  by  most  careful  adjust- 
ments. By  this  means  valuable  historic  materials  have  been  obtained 
to  supply  many  deficiencies  in  the  record.  It  will  be  noticed  that  even 
the  remarkably  clear  and  beautiful  inscription,  No.  1,  omits  some  let- 
ters, leaving  them  to  be  easily  supplied  by  the  reader.  It  is  addressed 
to  St.  Agnes,  and  is  a  curious  commingling  of  faith  and  poetic  enthu- 
siasm. Whether  we  are  to  regard  this  address  as  an  in-  prayers  to  the 
vocation  to  the  saint,  after  the  manner  of  the  classical  <Jead. 
writers,  or  as  an  expression  of  veneration,  it  is  plain  that  here  is  a 
clear  indication  of  faith  in  the  influence  of  the  dead  upon  the  fortunes 
of  the  living. 

No.  2  is  written  in  honor  of  the  martyrs,  Felix  and  Adauctus. 
Nos.  3  and  4  are  from  the  crypt  of  Eusebius  of  the  cemetery  San 
Calisto — No.  4  being  a  restoration  of  the  fifth  or  sixth  century 
from  numerous  fragments  found  in  this  cemetery.  The  vertical  in- 
scription in  the  margin  on  each  side  the  main  one  gives  the  name 
of  him  who  prepared  the  work — Furius  Dionysius  Philoculus,  the 

engraver  to  Damasus.     The  monument  is  of  special  interest  in  tell- 
20 


294  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

ing  what  is  not  elsewhere  found;  namely,  that  the  pope  Eusebius, 
A.  D.  310,  died  in  exile  in  Sicily,  whither  he  was  banished  by  Max- 
The  terms  for  entius.  It  is  notable  that  three  terms  are  here  used  in 
chief  pastor.  connection  with  Eusebius  and  Damasus :  episcopos,  rector, 
and  pappa.  Much  discussion  has  been  had  respecting  the  meaning 
of  these  words,  and  respecting  the  time  when  the  y^ox^L  pappa  first 
became  the  official  characterization  of  the  head  of  the  Western 
Church.  The  word  rector  implies  a  degree  of  authority,  but  can 
hardly  be  claimed  to  carry  with  it  undisputed  and  irresponsible  au- 
thority. It  was  at  times  applied  to  simple  curh.  The  word  pappa 
seems  at  fii*st  to  have  been  used  to  designate  the  spiritual  relation- 
ship of  those  who  had  been  especially  helpful  as  advisers.  The 
term  was  aj^plied  to  numerous  bishops  in  both  West  and  East,  and 
was  not  the  exclusive  title  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  De  Rossi  has 
affirmed  that  it  was  originally  a  title  of  endearment  rather  than  of 
dignity.  The  term  episcopos  is  the  proper  official  designation  of  the 
chief  officer  of  the  Church,  both  in  the  time  of  Damasus  and  with 
his  successors.  This  is  the  term  whose  meaning  is  fixed  and  definite, 
about  which  no  doubt  can  be  entertained. 

No.  9  has  given  occasion  for  much  discussion  as  to  its  teaching. 
„      .  .  Some  epigraphists  (Marchi  notably)  have  claimed  that 

martyrs  not  reference  is  here  made  to  the  great  multitude  of  victims 
taught.  yffh.0  perished  during  the  persecutions,  and  it  has  been 

cited  in  proof  of  this  opinion.  But  it  would  be  unwarrantable  to 
press  the  teaching  of  this  inscription  too  far.  The  manifestly  pan- 
egyric character  of  the  writing  may  well  suggest  caution  in  the  in- 
terpretation; yet  it  is  instructive  in  revealing  the  enthusiastic  spirit 
of  this  noted  bishop  in  caring  for  the  memory  of  those  who  had  so 
faithfully  witnessed  for  Christ. 

The  eleven  inscriptions  of  Plate  VIII '  are  from  the  last  half  of 
the  fourth  century.  They  are  of  fixed  date,  this  being  determined  by 
the  consulates  mentioned  in  the  inscriptions  themselves.  They  extend 
Characteristics  from  A.  D.  360  to  the  close  of  the  centur}^  The  char- 
of  inscriptions  acteristics  of  the  epigraphic  monuments  of  this  period 

of  the  last  half    .  -  \.   ii  t    n  •    n      i        i     -r»        • 

of  the  fourth  have  been  most  carefully  studied,  especially  by  de  Rossi, 
century.  \x\  his  exhaustive  work  "^  he  has  given  the  following  as 

among  their  distinguishing  marks:  Frequent  recurrence  of  the  mon- 
ogram of  Christ  in  the  Constantinian  form,  ^- ;  the  use  of  the  cruci- 
form style  of  this  monogram,  h-E,;  the  association  with  it  of  the  A  i2; 
the  general  absence  of  the  symbolic  anchor  and  fish ;  the  continuation 
of  the  doves;  and  an  almost  exclusive  use  of  the  Latin  language  on 

'  Reduced  from  Plate  Ixii,  vol.  ii,  of  Roller's  Lts  Catacombes  de  Rome. 
*  Roma  Sotterranea,  t.  iii,  p.  300. 


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PVLCB-ADECORES  V  OSOX.O  C  ONTENTAp-VD  O  a.E 
HEVDELECTASA.TISIVIISERAEGENETB-ICX5AJVIORE 
ACCIPEQVJDMVLTISTHAXAMIPOSTEOEDERAPIUMA 
EREP'rA^HXOCVLlSFLORIGJ6N-I'rOB.IS  ABUT 
AETHElUAMCVPIENSCAELICONSCElNrDERELVCEM 
HAHCDAMASYSPRESTAXCVNCTISSO  LACIA7LE  TVS 

N     V  I  XlTANNl-XVl-MJXPlES.XXV.DHt^llltrAI.'lAN'ffcMJEltOBATOaTR.S^TVRNIWlONSI 


Plate  VIII.— Epitaphs  of  Second  Half  of  the  Fourth  Century. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  EPIGRAPHY.  297 

the  monuments  of  the  West,  With  few  exceptions  the  simple  ex- 
pressions of  invocation,  as  vivas,  refrigera,  etc.,  are  discontinued, 
and  a  style  of  high  panegyric  is  frequently  indulged;  the  day  of 
death  and  even  of  burial  is  usually  mentioned;  and  a  general  pre- 
dominance of  the  expressions  depositics,  deposition  etc.  These  are 
to  be  regarded  only  as  general  marks  of  the  inscriptions    _ 

„..,„.  ^  Warning 

of  this  period;  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  against  hasty 
style  of  the  epigraphic  monuments  does  not  undergo  a  inductions. 
sudden  and  complete  transformation,  but  some  marks  continue  in 
permanence.  No.  1  is  somewhat  rude  of  workmanship,  tending  to 
the  cursive  style.  It  is  considerably  abbreviated,  yet  the  parts  are 
easily  supplied. 

"  His  parents  to  their  most  dearly-beloved  son,  Dionysius,  who 
lived  five  years,  seven  months,  and  nine  days.  Buried  on  the  six- 
teenth before  the  Kalends  of  September,  Constantine  being  for  the 
tenth  time  consul.     In  peace." 

The  connection  here  of  the  A  Q  with  the  monogram  of  Christ 
(said  to  be  the  first  instance  where  these  are  associated  Divinity  of 
on  a  monument  of  fixed  date ')  certainly  suggests  the  Christ. 
everlastingness  of  the  second  jDerson  of  the  sacred  Tl•init3^  Yet 
it  would  probably  be  unwarrantable  to  regard  the  presence  of  the 
symbol,  A  S2,  upon  a  monument  as  conclusive  proof  of  the  faith 
of  those  who  caused  its  erection  in  the  deity  of  Christ.  We  have 
already  spoken  of  the  use  of  the  D-  M*  upon  Christian  burial  monu- 
ments, and  have  seen  that  this  arose  from  the  fact  that  it  had  prob- 
ably become  a  sort  of  conventional  heading  to  these  inscriptions,  and 
that  little  thought  was  probably  had  of  the  heathen  ignorance  of 
significance  of  the  symbol.  So  also  it  may  be  true  that  cance^d'syml 
the  placing  of  the  A  £2  upon  the  tombs  of  the  deceased  bois  possible. 
Christians  may  have  been  without  thought  of  its  deep  dogmatic  im- 
port on  the  part  of  the  sculptor.  But  it  certainly  argues  that 
what  had  once  been  deliberately  chosen  as  significant  of  the  nat- 
ure and  person  of  Christ  continued,  however  unconsciously,  to  be 
accepted  by  the  Christians  of  the  fourth  century  as  expressive  of 
their  faith  in  the  eternity  of  that  Lord  in  whose  peace  their  departed 
dead  now  rested. 

The  semper  qniescis  seciira  and  dormit  of  No.  2,  the  requievit  in 
pace  of  No.  3,  and  the  hie  reqidescit  of  No.  9  recall  the  question 
whether  these  shall  be  regarded  of  dogmatic  import,  or  are  only  ex- 
pressive of  the  current  belief  of  Christians  in  the  quiet  repose  of  the 
actor  after  the  struggles  of  this  earthly  scene  are  passed. 

In  Nos.  5,  6,  7,  and  8,  the  high  eulogistic  character  of  many  of 
'  Roller:    Catacombes  de  Rome,  T.  ii,  p.  81. 


298  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

the  inscriptions  of  this  period  is  illustrated.  The  miroe  sapientce, 
Eulogistic  sem2)er  ccelestia  qucerens,  optima  servatrix  legis,Jideique 
character  of  in-  mcigistra  decllt,  hie  tumulus  lacrimas  retinet,  etc.,  are 
scnptions.  -^^  strong  contrast  with  the  simple  and   expressive  in 

pace  or  the  hie  Jaeet  of  the  second  and  third  centuries.  In  No.  8 
are  the  clear-cut  workmanship,  the  regularity  of  the  lettering,  the 
equality  of  the  lines,  as  well  as  the  high  panegyric  of  the  Damasene 
inscriptions,  to  which  allusion  has  elsewhere  been  made. 

No.  10,  of  the  year  397  A.D.,  is  interesting  as  a  genuine  palimp- 
sest; since  on  the  back  is  seen  another  inscription, 
Z/eo  et  Statia  vivi  fecerunt,  while  beneath  the  main 
Latin  inscription  is  found  a  Greek  one  inverted,  of  good  characters, 
and  evidently  of  a  date  much  earlier  than  the  last.  It  reads 
ETTTXIAN^i  AOTAfl  GEOT  lOvAIANH  CTN  (6iw).  Thus  on  the 
same  slab  are  found  the  purer  Latin,  the  much  earlier  and  almost 
classical  Greek,  and  over  it  again  the  later  and  corrupt  Latin.  This 
monument  would  also  suggest  that  the  language  of  the  early  Church 
was  the  Greek. 

An  interesting  class   of  objects  in  epigraphical  science  are  the 

cfraifiti.     They  are  very  widely  diffused  both  in  paaran 
The  graffiti.  ,    ^,    .     .  rr^, 

and  Christian  monuments.      Ihey  are  more   numerous 

in  those  places  to  which  pilgrims  and  devotees  resorted  for  worship 
and  meditation,  where  the  sanctity  of  the  persons  interred,  or  the  in- 
spiring memories  of  the  scenes,  transform  the  spots  into  holy  shrines. 
Marked  examples  of  such  graffiti  are  met  in  many  parts  of  the  Orient, 
where  original  inscriptions  have  been  in  a  degree  effaced  by  others  of 
a  later  date,  and  these  in  turn  by  still  others.^  The  examples  on  Christ- 
ian monuments  and  in  sacred  spots  are  very  numerous,  but  the  diffi- 
culty of  deciphering  them  becomes  very  great,  and  many  valuable 
facts,  undoubtedly  concealed  under  the  commingling  of  characters, 
still  elude  the  ingenuity  of  the  epigraphist. 

In  some  portions  of  the  Christian  catacombs  of  Rome  the  graffiti 
have  been  studied  with  great  zeal,  especially  by  de  Rossi,  who  has 
given  a  resume  of  results  in  his  noted  work.''  As  in  the  case  of 
pilgrimages  to  heathen  fanes  the  devotee  was  accustomed  to  inscribe 
a  vow  or  a  prayer,  or  to  leave  a  record  of  his  visit  on  or  near  the 

'  Notable  examples  are  found  at  Dog  River,  in  Syria,  Persepolis,  and  in  many- 
parts  of  Egypt.  "  Those  faintly  cut  emblems  of  Sesostris,  those  stern,  cold  soldiers 
of  Chaldea,  those  inscriptions  in  Persian,  Greek,  Latin,  and  Arabic,  each  embodies  a 
history  of  itself,  or  rather  tells  of  one  written  elsewhere,  which  we  long  to  possess." 
Thomson :  The  Land  and  the  Book,  vol.  i,  p.  59.  For  Persepolis  see  especially  Fer- 
gusson  :  History  of  Architecture. 

^  Roma  Sotterranea:  t.  ii,  tav.  xxxii  and  xxxiii. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  EPIGRAPHY. 


299 


sacred  shrine,  so  also  in  visiting  the  burial  places  of   saints  and 

martyrs  the  pilgrims  were  desirous  to  indicate  their  feelings.     Fig. 

123  is  a  representation  of  a  small  wall  surface  in  the  crypt  of  San 

Sisto  in  the  cemetery  of  San  Calisto,  at  Rome.     The  marks  seem  to 

be  mere  scratches  upon  the  mortar,  or  in  some  instances 

are  in  pigment.     The  variety  of   forms  in  the  letters, 

the  different  languages,  Latin  and  Greek,  and  sometimes  the  almost 


In  San  Calisto. 


Fig.  123.— GraCati  from  papal  crypt,  San  Sisto,  Rome. 


barbarous  vernacular  of  a  later  time,  make  a  jumble  of  dates,  of 
sentiments,  and  of  experiences  which,  if  unraveled,  might  doubtless 
furnish  valuable  historic  truths  to  supply  the  hiatuses  now  so  pain- 
fully felt.  The  portions  which  have  been  deciphered  are  entirely 
harmonious  with  the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  well-understood 
inscriptions.  The  views  of  death  are  equally  cheerful,  and  the  joy 
of  the  soul  in  Christ  is  equally  ecstatic. 

Sometimes  the  cross  appears  with  equal  arms  enclosed  in  a  circle. 
It  is  not  easy  to  determine  how  far  this  may  be  regarded  as  of 
symbolic  import.      The  extreme   school  of   symbolists  would  see 


300 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 


in  such  forms  the  teaching  of  the  eternity  of  the  person  symbol- 
ized, as  well  as  the  continuance  in  perpetuity  of  the  doctrine  and 

kingdom 

which  He  has 

established. 

In    Fig.     124 

we    have    an 

example  from 

the  first  quar- 

t  e  r    of    the 

fifth  century. 
••     \  *;    ■        ,'/         Probably      it 

■  —  -         .'  was    part    oi 

- — • '  a  burial  mon- 

Fig.  124.— Cross  in  circle  with  inscriptions,   ument,     and 

the  legend  in 
the  circle  was  descriptive  of  the  persons  com- 
memorated, while  the  tAvo  arms  of  the  cross 
bear  the  quite  common  deposita  in  pace,  and 
the  age  of  the  deceased.  Unfortunately, 
the  mutilated  condition  of  the  inscription 
prevents  its  satisfactory  interpretation. 

Fig.  125  furnishes  an  example  of  the  value 
Epigrapiiicand  of  archfcological  remains  in  the 
pictorial    aids  ill^stl•ation  of  obscure  points  in 

to  history  lUus-  ^ 

trated.  history.      It  IS  a   small   column 

found  in  1874  among  the  ruins  of  the  Ba- 
silica San  Petronilla,  Rome.'  This  ruined 
basilica  has  already  been  described  (see  pp. 
174-176)  as  situated  above  the  cemetery  of 

San  Domitilla,  and  seems  to  have  been  built  on  account  of  the 
peculiar  sanctity  of  persons  interred  beneath.  In  former  times  this 
was  known  as  the  Cemeterium  DomitillcB,  Nerei  et  Achillei,  ad 
Petronillam  Vid  Ardeatind.  The  reasons  why  Nereus,  Achilleus, 
and  Petronilla  should  be  thus  associated  with  this  cemetery  were 
difficult  to  find,  until  the  discovery  of  this  column  and  a  small  frag- 
ment of  a  like  column  with  faint  indications  of  the  representation 
of  a  scene  similar  to  that  depicted  in  Fig.  125.  Here  is  clearly  a 
martj^rdom.  The  pursuing  soldier  with  the  deadly  weapon  would 
slay  the  retreating  victim,  ACILLEVS.  The  further  indication  of 
martyrdom  is  the  crown  above  the  cross,  the  triumpJms  Ghristi, 
'  It  had  fallen  through  the  pavement  of  the  basilica  into  a  lower  gallery  of  the 
cemetery,     v.  Figs.  76,  77. 


Fig.  125.— Column  from  the 
Basilica  of  Petronilla.  Martyr- 
dom of  Achilles. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  EPIGRAPHY.  301 

which  is  the  symbol  of  the  martyr's  death  and  triumph.  It  is 
conjectured  that  the  other  like  column,  a  small  portion  of  which 
has  been  found,  may  have  similarly  depicted  the  martyr  death  of 
Nereus.  Further  excavations  have  given  abundant  proofs,  also, 
of  the  connection  of  Petronilla  with  this  basilica  and  cemetery. 
The  most  plausible  explanation  is  that  the  cemetery  originally  took 
its  name  from  Domitilla,  to  whom  this  plot  of  land  belonged,  and 
that  its  name  was  afterward  changed  on  account  of  the  interment 
of  these  martyrs  in  the  sacred  precincts.' 

Most  instructive,  in  this  connection,  are  the  extremely  valuable 
and  numerous  inscriptions  from  Aquileia,  which  are  now  in  Aqui- 
leia  and  Trieste.  Two  thousand  have  already  been  brought  to  light 
and  the  excavations  are  constantly  adding  new  ones.  It  is  to  Ber- 
toli,  Zandonati,  Cassis,  and  especially  to  Gregorutti,  that  we  owe  the 
collection  and  scientific  arrangement  of  these  inscriptions.  Most  of 
them  may  be  found  in  the  Corpus  Inscriptionuni  Latinarwn,  vol.  v. 
The  "  Corpus "  fails,  however,  to  give  any  adequate  idea  of  the 
symbols,  and  is  occasionally  defective  as  to  the  text.  Wilpert  in 
1891  went  cai-efully  over  the  inscriptions,  taking  squeezes  of  them 
all.  They  have  also  been  recently  copied  by  Dr.  Nikolaus  Miillei', 
of  the  Berlin  University.  They  clearly  illustrate  the  principles 
already  laid  down.  They  are  hardly  earlier  than  the  middle  of  the 
fourth  century.  They  differ  in  the  use  of  symbols  and  in  certain 
formulae  from  the  Roman  monuments. 

The  typical  symbol  for  Aquileia  is  the  Grant.  We  find  it  now 
alone,  now  surrounded  by  sheep  or  doves,  most  often  between 
monograms  of  Christ,  which  the  old  stonecutters  seem  to  have  used 
quite  lavishly.  One  of  Gregorutti's  stelfe  shows  the  deceased  Pe- 
tronia  as  Orant  standing  in  the  midst  of  four  monograms  of  Christ, 
while  three  others  appear  in  the  first  line.  Often  associated  with 
the  monogram  are  the  letters  A  S,  more  rarely  the  cross  ;  the 
dove  occurs  frequently,  usually  with  the  olive  branch,  more  seldom 
with  the  palm.  While  on  the  Roman  monuments  the  Orant  rarely 
is  met  in  connection  with  inscriptions,  in  Aquileia  the  reverse  is 
true.  The  star,  the  candlestick  with  candle,  and  the  curtain, 
symbols  which  rarely  occur  on  Roman  monuments,  occur  frequently 
in  Aquileia. 

Certain  expressions  also  sharply  distinguish  these  monuments  from 
those  at  Rome.  Such  f ormulre  as  "  recessit  in  pace  jidelis^''  "  de- 
positus  in  ^yace  fidelis^''  '■'■  dolens  contra  votum  facere^''  '■^pausatin 
p>ace  fidelis^''  introduce  new  words  to  express  the  departure  of  the 

'  w.  Northcote  and  Brownlow :  Roma  Sotterranea,  vol.  i,  pp.  121,  180-183.  Roller: 
Les  Catacombes  de  Rome,  vol.  ii,  plate  xciv,  No.  4,  p.  331. 


303  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

deceased.  The  familiar  "  hie  jacet,''''  "  hie  requescit,''''  give  place  to 
^'•pausat^''  ^' recessit.''^  The  word  '■'■  jidelis''''  is  used  often,  and  in- 
dicates that  the  deceased  had  been  baptized.' 

Figs.  125%  125'',  125%  125''  are  from  the  Zandonati  collection  in 
Trieste,  and  are  from  squeezes  taken  by  A.  W.  Patten  in  1892. 
The  others  are  from  the  brochure  of  Joseph  Wilpert,  given  by  him 
as  a  "  Festschrift  "  at  the  first  congress  of  Christian  archiBologists, 
held  at  Spalato,  Dalmatia,  May,  1892,  and  published  in  the  Ephem- 
eris  Salonitana,  1894. 

Fig.  125^*  shows  the  familiar  symbol  of  the  dove,  associated  with 
the  circle,  the  Constantine  monogram,  and  the  A  Q.  This  ancient 
and  favorite  symbol  is  very  fi-equent  on  these  monuments.  The 
suggestion  is  clearly  concerning  the  eternity  of  Christ. 

Fig.  125*^  is  a  very  crude  representation  of  the  Orant  with  the 
monogram.  The  bower  of  palm  branches  is  supposed  to  indicate 
the  heavenly  mansions  into  which  the  deceased  has  entered. 

The  following  figures  present  the  Orant  in  connection  with  in- 
scriptions. 

Fig.  125<=  consists  of  a  veiled  figure  and  two  unveiled,  standing 
evidently  in  the  midst  of  a  garden.  The  veiled  figure  indicates  a 
married  woman  (Wilpert).  The  suggestion  is  that  the  three  persons 
represented  have  reached  the  paradise  of  the  blessed — CRESCEN- 
TINA  lANVARIVS  ¥l.{avms)  AQVILINVS  SEVIBVM  FECIT. 
"  Crescentina,  Januarius,  Flavins  Aquilinus  did  it  during  his  life- 
time "  (sevibum).  The  corrupt  Latin  and  the  crude  sculpture  are 
characteristic  of  this  period.  Two  of  these  figures  being  men  sup- 
ports the  statement  that  the  Orant  is  not  always  "  a  female  figure 
representing  the  praying  Church,"  as  held  by  some  archaeologists. 

Fig.  125'',  in  addition  to  the  Orant,  contains  the  dove  and 
an  uncommon  and  most  interesting  figure  of  the  Good  Shepherd 
beneath  a  draped  arch.  He  is  a  young,  beardless  man,  wearing  a 
toga,  his  feet  clad  in  shoes.  He  holds  the  shepherd's  pipes  to  his 
mouth.  Between  the  two  figures  appears  the  dove.  Above  the  arch 
appear  the  monogram  and  the  palm  branches.  The  Good  Shepherd 
does  not  bear  the  sheep  upon  his  shoulders,  for  the  departed  is  now 
among  the  saved.  The  Orant  beside  him  is  the  representative 
of  the  soul  which  has  been  received  into  eternal  blessedness,  has 
received  from  Christ  the  palm  of  victory,  and  has  entered  the 
heavenly  mansions  :  {dulcissi)MO  FILIO*  BALERIO  {qui  vixi)T 
ANOS-  XVni-  MEN(ses)-  V-  Biies)  {qu)l-  DISCESSIT-  CRIS- 
TI(a;i«)S  MATER  SIMPLICIA  CONTRA  VOTVM-  POSVIT 
Q-   VSQVE(«)    IN   PACE    ET   PVELLA    NOMINE   MALISA. 

'  For  further  discussion  of  this  see  chapter  on  Baptism. 


304  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

"  The  Mother  Simplicia  erects  the  tablet  in  memory  of  her  sweetest 
son  Valei'ius,  who  lived  eighteen  years,  five  months,  and  certain 
days,  and  dejjarted  a  Christian."  There  is  also  added  the  name  of 
a  daughter,  "  Malisa,"  who  "  rests  in  peace." 

The  expression  "  Contra  votum "  is  frequent  on  these  monu- 
ments. The  full  form  is,  "  Contra  votuni  facere  dole^is.''''  It  is  ui-ged 
by  Wilpert  and  others  that  the  deceased  Valerius  had  not  been 
baptized.  He  is  therefore  described  as  "  Christianus^^  not  "Jidelis,^'' 
being  only  a  catechumen.  A  passage  from  Augustine  supports  this 
view:  ^^  Interroga  Iionmiem,  Christlanus  esf  Hespondet  tibi,  JVo)i 
SU771,  si  Paganus  est  aut  Judceus.  Si  autem  dixerit,  Sum :  adhuc 
qximris  ah  eo,  Catechumenus,  an  fidelis  f  Si  responderit,  Catechu- 
menus  y  inunctus  est,  nondum  lotus.'''' ' 

The  Grant  is  a  prominent  and  almost  a  characteristic  feature 
of  these  fragments,  extending  from  the  crudest  to  the  most  grace- 
ful forms.  Fig.  125®  is  one  of  the  finest  symbolical  groups  found 
on  any  early  Christian  monument.  It  is  apparently  the  gravestone 
of  mother  and  daughter.  Two  inscriptions,  of  difierent  style  and 
date,  are  evident.  The  trees,  the  sheep  looking  upward,  the  grace- 
fully draped  figures  of  the  mother  and  her  daughter,  together  with 
the  house  indicating  the  tomb,  render  this  an  interesting  fragment. 

The  second  volume  of  de  Rossi's  great  work  on  the  Christian 
inscriptions  of  Rome  appeared  in  its  first  part  in  1888.  It  contains 
Christian  inscriptions  in  metrical  form  from  the  pre-Constantine  era 
up  to  the  Middle  Ages.  The  general  style  of  these  metrical  inscrip- 
tions is  crude  ;  they  are  not  to  be  considered  as  poems,  but  merely 
as  rhymes.^ 

In  some  of  them  occur  quotations  from  the  heathen  poets,  espe- 
cially from  Virgil.  The  epigraph  hymns  of  Christian  poets  in  Gaul, 
Spain,  and  Britain  from  the  sixth  century  to  the  age  of  Charle- 
magne we  expect  will  be  more  fully  given  in  the  second  part  of 
volume  ii,  which  is  yet  to  appear. 

The  publication  of  few  inscriptions  has  occasioned  greater  dis- 
cussion among  archaeologists  than  the  celebrated  Greek  inscription 
of  Abercius  of  Hierapolis,  assigned  to  the  third  century.  It  is 
given  by  de  Rossi,  vol.  ii,  part  i,  Proem,  xii,  who  thus  expresses 
his  opinion  of  its  value :  *'  Epigramma  et  pretio  inter  Christiana 

'  Migne,  PP.  lat.,  vol.  xxxv,  col.  1*714. 

*  De  Rossi:  Insc.  Chr.  Urbis  Roma;,  vol.  ii,  part  i,  vi,  1888  :  "  Inscriptiones  Chris- 
tianoB  versibus  confedce  elegantia  stilt,  arte  versificationis  et  spirito  poetico  vix  unquam 
commendantur :  scepe  negledis  legibus  meiri  ad  numeros  (antum  rhythmicos  sunt  exadce. 
Quare  visum  est  eas  appellandas  potius  esse  metricas  et  rhythmicos,  quam  cum  Morcllo, 
qui  cetatis  prcesertim  elegantioris  epigrammata  respexit,  poeticas." 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  EPIGRAPHY.  305 

facile pr biceps.''''  In  this  Liglitfoot  coincides  {The Apostolic  Fathers, 
vol.  i,  p.  493).  On  the  other  hand,  Harnack  holds  to  its  heathen 
origin  (Texte  xmd  Uiitersuchtmgen,  Bd.  xii),  Ficker  assigns  it  to  the 
Cybele  cultus,  Hilgenf eld  believes  it  to  belong  to  the  Isis  cultus. 

It  was  known  to  the  Byzantine  hagiologists,  but  remained  un- 
noticed, because  the  description  of  Abercius's  life  had  been,  since 
Tillemont,  regarded  as  legendary  poetry.  The  archaeological  jour- 
neys of  Ramsay  in  Asia  Minor  in  1882  resulted  in  discoveries 
which  have  cleared  up  the  genuineness  of  the  Abercius  inscription. 
Wilpert  holds  that  this  inscription  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
Christian  symbolism,  and  is  a  witness  to  the  unity  of  the  Christian 
faith  over  a  wide  territory  (Euphrates  to  Rome)  in  the  third  century. 
For  the  full  text  of  the  inscription  see  de  Rossi;  also  Wilpert, 
Princiiyienfragen  der  ChristUchen  ArchcBologie,  p.  50. 

Fig.  125^  represents  the  two  stones  which  support  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  manuscript  copies  of  this  inscription.  No.  2  is  the  Alex- 
ander stela  found  by  Ramsay  in  his  first  journey  through  Phrygia 
in  1882.  No.  1  is  the  original  inscription  of  Abercius  found  by 
Ramsay  in  his  second  journey.  It  was  built  into  the  walls  of  a 
bath.  With  the  manuscript  copies  and  the  assistance  of  these  two 
fragments  the  entire  inscription  is  substantially  reproduced.  It 
carries  us  to  the  year  300  of  the  Phrygian  reckoning  ;  216  of  the 
Christian  reckoninsr. 


306  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

EARLY   CHRISTIAN    POETRY    AND    HYMNOLOGY. 
§  1.  Preliminary  Considerations. 

Religious  emotions  have  ever  sought  expression  in  poetic  meas- 
Eeiations  of  "^'^*  "^^^  ^^^^  poets  of  a  people  have  been  instinct  with 
poetry  and  prophetic  fire,  while  the  prophets  of  religion  clothe 
re  gion.  their  weightiest  utterances  in  poetic  garb.     Poet  and 

j)rophet  alike  draw  inspiration  from  a  common  source.  Religion 
suggests  to  poetry  its  richest  themes,  while  poetry  furnishes  to  re- 
ligion the  vehicle  for  the  expression  of  its  deepest  truths.  The  sa- 
cred song  is  therefore  found  associated  with  every  religion.  The 
heathen  used  it,  the  Hebrews  chanted  it  in  their  temple  service,  the 
untutored  savage  utters  it  in  sacred  grove  or  consecrated  wood. 

Nor  is  the  Christian  religion  an  exception  to  this  rule.  The  true 
Te  Dewn  Laudanius  had  been  chanted  by  the  angelic  choir  when 
they  announced  the  advent  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  and  the  song 
of  holy  triumph  of  the  devout  Simeon,  Nunc  Dimittis,  has  been 
counted  among  the  valued  treasures  of  the  universal  Church.  In 
imitation  of  the  Hebrew  custom  the  first  apostles  had 
inculcated  the  use  of  hymns  in  the  social  gatherings  of 
the  Church,  and  in  the  more  public  congregation.  That  these  spir- 
itual songs  were  a  means  of  edification  and  profit  cannot  once  be 
doubted.  But  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  a  feeble  and  despised 
Church  was  in  circumstances  favourable  to  the  development  of  a 
distinctive  hymnology  or  to  the  origination  of  a  characteristic  music' 

The  first  period  of  Christianity  was,  indeed,  filled  with  an  inspi- 

T,   ,     r.^  ■ ..     ration  such  as  the  Avorld  had  never  before  known.     The 

Early    Christi-  .  .  . 

anityproiiflcof  founding  of  a  religion  so  new  in  spirit,  which  tended  to 

poetic  themes,   'bj-eak  down  the  barriers  of  social  life  and  unite  all  men 

'  "It  is  probable  that  whatever  of  hymnology  was  practised  by  the  Jews  at  the 
time  of  Christ  was  appropriated  by  the  new  Church.  All  the  instructions  of  the 
apostles  agree  with  all  the  traditions  to  confirm  this  opinion.  Since  during  the  life 
of  St.  Paul  there  could  have  been  no  new  literary  development  in  the  Church,  his 
exhortations  to  the  use  of  hymns  and  spiritual  songs  must  have  chiefly  referred  to 
what  was  then  extant  in  the  Jewish  Church."  v.  Burgess:  Hymns  and  Homilies  of 
Ephraem  Syrtis,  London,  1853,  p.  xxiv.  Still  it  is  quite  probable  that  in  the  social 
gatherings  there  may  have  been  a  kind  of  improvisation  which  was  the  beginning  of 
an  independent  hymnology. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  POETRY  AND   HYMNOLOGY.  307 

in  one  holy  communion;  which  presented  so  noble  an  array  of 
witnesses  and  martyrs  for  the  truth's  sake,  and  furnished  support- 
ing power  to  triumph  over  every  form  of  persecution  and  death, 
-was  the  occasion  for  awakening  the  true  poetic  spirit  in  the  minds 
of  its  disciples.'  Such  circumstances  are  especially  prolific  of 
themes  of  song.  Nevertheless,  a  degree  of  leisure  is  requisite  to 
set  these  themes  to  harmonious  verse.  While  the  mind  is  at  the 
extremest  stretch  of  action,  or  moved  by  a  consuming  passion,  poetic 
conceptions  may  be  richest,  yet  poetic  versification  is  impossible; 
this  comes  only  from  quiet  contemplation  and  conditions  of  peace.^ 
It  must  likewise  be  recollected  that  circumstances  of  danger  and 

persecution  interfered  with  the  growth  and  perfection  ^ 

^  .  °  ^  Yetnotfavour- 

of  the  Church  services,  and  also  retarded  the  develop-  able  to  metrical 

ment  of  the  metrical  hymn.  Add  to  this  the  fact  be-  *°rms. 
fore  referred  to  (pp.  52,  53),  that  the  Church  of  the  first  two  and 
one  half  centuries  was  somewhat  hesitant  to  cultivate  some  forms 
of  the  fine  arts  because  of  their  supposed  contaminating  influences 
through  association  with  heathen  practices.  The  threat  to  the 
purity  of  Christian  doctrine  and  life  seemed  so  grave  that  long  after 
Christianity  had  received  recognition  from  the  state  Jerome  wrote: 
"  A  Christian  maiden  should  not  know  what  a  lyre  or  a  flute  is,  or 
what  is  its  use."  The  first  disciples  in  nearly  every  city  were 
from  Jewish  families  who  in  their  wide  dispersion  had  maintained 
the  Hebrew  worship  in  private  houses  or  in  synagogues.  It  would 
therefore  be  antecedently  probable  that  many  elements 
of  the  Jewish  service  would  at  first  be  incorporated  into  nrst  in  general 
the  religious  forms  of  these  early  converts.  The  writ-  "^^" 
ings  of  the  apostles  confirm  this  presumption.^  The  chanting  of  the 
Psalter  by  the  priest,  and  the  probable  antiphonal  singing  by  the 
congregation,  would  suggest  like  forms  to  the  proselytes  to  the 
new  faith.  The  extent  to  which  the  Church  of  the  first  two  gen- 
erations appropriated  and  adapted  the  then  existing  poetry  and 
music  to  its  own  wants,  is  a  question  that  has  been  sharply  de- 
bated by  archffiologists.  It  is,  however,  generally  con-  Germs  of  a 
ceded  that  intimations  of  a  church  psalmody  and  hym-  fJ ™^"'°t^  t^. 
nology  are  found  in  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament,  ment. 
Especially  in  the  Apocalypse  are  met  suggestions  of  hymns  which 
bear  a  distinctively  Christian  stamp. 

'  "  Christianity  began  among  a  people  who  were  full  of  active  imagination,  and 
of  keenest  sensibility.  They  delighted  to  have  the  heart  aroused  and  the  fancy  ele- 
vated through  appeals  to  the  eye  and  ear."     Herder:  Zerstreuete  Blatter,  5th  Samml. 

'^  Schletterer:  GescMchte  d.  geistlichen  DicMungen  u.  kirchlichen  Tonkunst,  Hanover, 
1869,  s.  54.  ^  Burgess:    Op.  cit.,  pp.  xxiii,  xxiv. 


308  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

The  gradual  liberation  of  the  disciples  from  the  burdens  of  the 
Mosaic  ritual  would  tend  to  eliminate  Jewish  elements  from  the 
public  services,  and  lead  to  the  preparation  of  a  liturgy  in  harmony 
with  the  needs  of  an  independent  and  distinctive  Church.'  The 
sharp  contrasts  between  the  monotheistic  belief  of  the  Christians 
Further  influ-  ^-^d  the  prevalent  polytheism,  their  adoration  of  the  now 
ences.  risen  and  glorified  Christ,  the  inspiring  and  supporting 

doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  and  the  quite  prevalent  expectation 
that  the  Lord  would  soon  return  to  awaken  the  sleeping  saints  to 
enter  upon  the  inheritance  of  a  universal  kingdom,  turned  the 
thought  away  from  systems  which  now  seemed  to  them  obsolete, 
and  contributed  to  the  developm.ent  of  a  hymnology  new  in  form 
and  content. 

No  extended  description  of  the  public  Christian  services  of  the 
first  two  centuries  by  contemporary  writers  has  been  preserved;  we 
are  therefore  compelled  to  be  satisfied  with  a  somewhat  imperfect 
_    .      ,.         induction.     The  early  fathers  and  the  "  Apostolic  Con- 

Confounding  _        _  ,       •'  ,  ^ 

of  "hymn"  stitutions "  associate  prayers  with  the  song  of  thanks- 
an  prayer.  giving.*  They  were  regarded  as  like  in  spirit.  They 
also  seem  to  avoid  the  use  of  the  term  "  hymn  "  through  fear  that 
their  worship  of  the  one  God  and  Christ  might  be  confounded  with 
that  of  the  heathen,  who  were  accustomed  to  sing  "  hymns  "  in  praise 
of  their  divinities.' 

"  Psalm "  and  "  ode  "  are  the  usual  terms  used  to  describe  these 
writings  and  exercises.  Although  no  hymns  from  the  first  or 
second  century  have  been  preserved  to  our  day,  and  no  mention  of 
The  probable  any  composer  of  hymns  is  found  in  the  records  of  the 
in^second^cen-  ^^'^*  *^^  centuries,*  it  may,  nevertheless,  be  safely  in- 
tury.  ferred  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  as  well  as  from  the 

few  incidental  allusions  to  the  early  ritual,  that  hymns  were  com- 
posed and  existed  in  written  form  at  the  beginning  of  the  second 
century.^ 

'  "Even  if  the  Psalms  of  tlie  Old  Testament  could,  at  the  beginning,  have  expressed 
all  the  deep  feelings  of  the  Christian  heart,  the  very  use  of  these  would  liave  aroused 
in  the  worshiper  a  desire  for  new  hymns  whidi  their  peculiar  gifts  and  inspiration 
would  have  created."  v.  Rambach:  Anthologie  cliristlicher  Gesdnge  aus  alien  Jahr- 
hunderten  der  Kirche,  Bd.  i,  s.  4. 

^v.  Augusti:  Handbuch  der  cliristlichen  Archceologie,  Leipzig,  1836,  Bd.  ii,  s.  10. 

^Augusti:  Op.  cit,  Bd.  ii,  s.  113.  Contra, 'Boh.mev:  Christ.-kirchliche  Wissenschafi, 
Breslau,  1836,  Bd.  ii,  s.  335. 

■*  With  the  possible  exception  of  the  Pedagogus  of  Clement,  and  the  Gloria  in 
Excelsis. 

*  Eusebius:  Hist.  Eccl,  v,  28,  where  a  writer  from  the  end  of  the  second  century 
is  represented  as  answering  the  Artemonites  by  appealing  to  a  great  number  of 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  POETRY  AND   HYMNOLOGY.  309 

Miinter  has  given  the  following  brief  summary  of  his  investigations: 
1.  The  congregations  of  the  apostolic  period  used  hymns  of  thanks- 
giving in  their  public  worshij^,  2.  They  also  used  these  Hunter's  cou- 
hymns  on  the  occasion  of  their  sacred  feasts,  the  Agapse,  elusions, 
etc.  3.  The  sacred  song  was  set  to  music,  and  chanted  by  the 
entire  congregation.  4.  These  hymns  and  psalms  which  the  early 
Christians  used  were  not  all  derived  from  the  Old  Testament  Scrij> 
tures,  but  some  were  of  their  own  origination  and  composition/ 
With  regard  to  the  meagreness  of  our  information  relative  to  thi-s 
subject,  he  suggests  that  it  should  cause  no  surprise  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  only  merest  fragments  of  the  history  of  the  early 
Church  have  been  preserved,  Avhile  the  larger  part  of  ^^^  ^  ^ 
what  may  have  been  written  has  been  irrevocably  lost;  greuess  of  in- 
that  since  the  hymns  were  kept  with  the  other  books  formation. 
of  the  Church,  they  may,  therefore,  have  furnished  a  special  reason 
for  persecution  when  the  sacred  writings  of  the  Christians  were 
hunted  out  and  destroj'^ed. 

That  the  number  of  these  hymns  must  have  been  quite  limited, 
as  compared  with  the  number  in  later  times,  seems  probable  from 
the  fact  that  most  of  the  early  Christians  were  uncultured  and  not 
in  circumstances  to  patronize,  much  less  to  ciiltivate,  the  fine  arts. 
Moreover,  at  a  still  later  date  the  councils  of  the  Church  were 
much  divided  in  opinion  relative  to  the  introduction  c^QgiUary  de- 
of  hymns  other  than  from  the  Psalter  into  the  public  cisions  di- 
services;  therefore,  the  writing  of  them  received  little  ^^^^^' 
encouragement  even  by  those  who  possessed  the  requisite  gifts  and 
culture.^ 

The  hesitation  of  Christian  councils  and  bishops  to  sanction  the 
use  of  other  metrical  compositions  than  the  Psalter  and  inspired 
utterances  from  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  finds  its  partial 
explanation  in  the  fact  that  the  heretical  leaders  were  among  the 
earliest  patrons  of  hymnology,  and  were  the  first  to  introduce  into 
the  public  worship  a  greater  regularity  and  pomp.  By  this  means 
multitudes  were  attracted  from  the  orthodox  service,  and  the  spread 
of  the  Gnostic  heresy  was  greatly  promoted. 

On  the  propriety  of  using  other  metrical  compositions  than  the 
Psalms  of  David  synods  and  councils  were  not  agreed.     In  most 

ancient  hymns  whose  theme  was  the  praise  of  Christ.  "  Psalmi  quoque  et  cantica 
fratrum  jam  pridera  a  fidelibus  conscripta  Christum  Verbum  Dei  concelebrant,  divin- 
itatem  et  tribueudo."  Also  the  custom  of  Paul  of  Samosata  in  changing  the  praise 
hymns  designed  to  be  sung  to  Christ  to  those  praising  himself,  is  a  further  evidence 
of  the  existence  of  hymns  and  music. 

'  Ueber  die  dlteste  christliche  Poesie,  ss.  18,  19.  ^  Op.  cit.,  pp.  30,  31. 


310  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

instances  their  decisions  were  very  cautiously  expressed.     By  some 

none  but   the  Psalter   was   permitted.      Nevertheless,  the   eastern 

fathers,  Chrysostom,  Ephraem  of  Syria,  and  others  had  ventured  to 

The    Greek  introduce  hymns  of  their  own  composition,  whose  use  had 

fathers  favora-   ^j-eatlv  added  to  the  fervor  of  devotion,  and  had  been 

ble  to  the  use    °  "^       .  .  ' 

of  hymns.  powerful  in  recalling  to  the  orthodox  fold  many  whom 

the  alluring  service  of  the  heretical  sects  had  led  astray.  The 
character  of  most  of  the  early  sacred  poetry  which  has  reached  us 
hardly  permits  it  to  be  classified  with  hymnology.  Even  the  very 
prolific  poet  of  the  Greek  church,  Gregory  Nazianzen,  has  not  con- 
tributed a  single  poem  which  deserves  the  name  of  hymn.'  Indeed, 
there  is  a  most  marked  contrast  between  the  productive  power  of 
the  early  and  the  modern  Church  with  respect  to  the  number  and 
character  of  sacred  poems.  It  is  estimated  that  the  aggregate 
Small  number  hymns  of  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Syrian  churches,  prior 
of  hymns.  ^q  tJ^e  sixth  century,  would  not  equal  those  found  in 

the  ordinary  collections  used  by  the  churches  of  our  day.  Ram- 
bach  *  has  afiirmed  that  the  total  number  of  Latin  hymns  and  sen- 
tences which  were  in  use  prior  to  the  fourteenth  century  did  not  ex- 
ceed four  hundred.  This  arose,  not  so  much  from  the  want  of  proper 
gifts  as  from  the  ends  had  in  view  by  the  writers  of  these  poetic 
Reason  of  the  coDipositions,  Much  of  their  poetry  was  of  a  dogmatic 
fewness  of  character,  and  was  intended  to  advocate  a  doctrine  or 
good  hymns,  combat  a  heresy  rather  than  to  contribute  to  the  edi- 
fication of  the  worshiper.^ 

We  must  also  be  reminded  that  the  general  use  of  hymnbooks  in 
the  public  service  of  the  early  Church  is  not  once  to  be  supposed. 
While  the  diffusion  of  books  in  the  Imperial  period  was  very 
considerable,  and  the  multiplying  of  manuscripts  was  compara- 
tively inexpensive,*  from  the  best  authorities  to  Avhich  we  have 
access  it  is  inferred  that  in  many  instances  large  congregations  had 
but  few  copies  of  the  hymns  which  were  in  use.  It  is  therefore 
probable  that  by  frequent  repetition  the  worshippers  committed  the 
hymns  to  memory,  and,  where  permitted,  also  sang  the  tunes  and 
chants  by  rote.  In  studying  subjects  of  this  character  the  investi- 
gator must,  as  far  as  possible,  transfer  himself  to  the  times,  and 
And  of  aids  to  I'salize  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  early  Christ- 
pubiic  service,  ians.  It  must  be  considered  how  many  arrangements 
of  the  service  of  the  modern  Church  have  sprung  from  the  ease  of 

'  August! :  Handbuch  christ.  Arch.,  Bd.  il,  p.  128. 

^  Anthologie,  ii,  8.  3  August! :    Op.  cit,  B.  v,  c.  4,  ii. 

*  V,  Uhlhorn:  Conflict  of  Christianity  toiih  Heathenism, -p-  24.  Merivale:  Hist,  of 
the  Romans  under  the  Empire,  vol.  vi,  p.  232. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY.  311 

multiplying  Bibles,  hymnbooks,  catechisms,  etc.,  by  means  of  the 
art  of  printing. 

The  partial  exclusion  of  the  private  members  of  the  early  Church 
from  participation  in  the  singing  is  attributable  far  more  to  their 
want  of  training  in  the  arts  of  poetry  and  music  than  to  the  arbi- 
trariness of  church  officials.  While  by  the  fourth  century  the  new 
religion  had  made  very  wide  and  important  conquests,  it  neverthe- 
less seems  probable  that  most  of  the  professed  Christian  communi- 
ties enjoyed  but  limited  means  of  cultivating  the  arts  to  which  the 
grandeur  and  impressiveness  of  public  worship  are  so  largely  due. 
Not  till  a  later  period  did  the  singing-schools  of  Rome,  Fulda,  Metz, 
St.  Gallen,  etc.,  prepai-e  the  clergy  to  lead  the  congregation  in  por- 
tions of  the  singing  service.  By  the  study  of  the  early  hymnology 
we  are  impressed  with  its  comparative  poverty.  The  depth  of  de- 
votional feeling  and  the  perfection  of  rhythm  which  characterize 
the  medifeval  and  the  modern  hymn  are  largely  wanting.  The  dig- 
nity and  high  inspiration  which  have  characterized  public  worship 
since  the  reformers  joined  the  perfected  hymn  to  apjjropriate  music, 
and  thus  brought  the  singing  to  the  entire  congregation,  could  not 
have  been  attained  even  in  the  most  imposing  churches  of  Constan- 
tinople, Antioch,  Milan,  or  Rome. 

§  2.   Sacred  Poetry  of  the  Syrian  Church. 

Syria  was  the  native  land  of  Christian  hymnology.  To  that  city 
where  the  disciples  were  first  called  Christians  probably  belongs  the 
honor  of  introducing  the  foi-mal  hymn  into  the  public  services  of  the 
Church.  A  questionable  tradition  contained  in  Socrates '  says  that 
Ignatius,  the  first  Christian  bishop  of  Antioch,  used  the  Antioch  the 
antiphonal  hymn  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  second  mother  city, 
century.  From  this  very  brief  reference  no  definite  knowledge  of 
the  character  of  the  hymn  or  of  its  relative  prominence  in  the  pub- 
lic service  may  be  gained. 

By  other  means,  howevei',  the  history  of  Syrian  hymnology  can 
be  traced  with  little  interruption  to  the  second  or  early  portion 
of  the  third  century.  In  Syria,  more  than  elsewhere,  the  Gnostic 
heresy  sought  to  propagate  itself  through  the  means  of  sacred  poetry 
and  hymns.     The  philosophic  theologian,  Bardesanes,  who  flourished 

'  Hist  EccL,  lib.  vi,  c.  8.  "  Jam  vero  didamus,  unde  consuetudo  liymnorum,  qui  in 
Ecclesia  alternis  decantantur,  initium  ceperit,  Ignatius  Antiochse  qnse  est  in  Syria, 
tertius  a  Petro  apostolo  Episcopus,  qui  cum  apostolis  ipsis  multura  versatus  est, 
visionem  vidit  angelorum  Sanctam  Trinitatem  hymnis  alterna  vice  decantatis  collan- 
dantium :  et  formam  canendi  in  ea  visionem  expresaam  ecclesise  Anliochanre  tradidit. 
Unde  ilia  traditio  in  omnibus  ecclesiis  recepta  est." 
21 


313  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

in  the  last  half  of  the  second  century  at  Edessa,  in  Mesoj)otamia,  was 
The  hymns  of  among  the  earliest  writers  of  hymns  which  were  used 
the  Guostics.  by  the  heretical  churches  of  the  East.  While  with  a 
single  exception  his  writings  have  been  lost,  we  are  informed  bv 
Ephraem,  the  Syrian,  that  he  composed  one  hundred  and  fifty  hymns 
in  imitation  of  the  Psalter,  By  clothing  his  peculiar  tenets  in  the 
enchanting  forms  of  song  he  seriously  threatened  the  purity  of  the 
Syrian  church.^  Multitudes  were  drawn  away  from  the  true  faith. 
His  skill  as  a  composer  of  music  was  equal  to  his  poetic  gifts;  for  it 
is  certain  that  he  gave  name  to  tunes  which  were  afterward  appro- 
priated by  the  orthodox  party.  For  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  the 
influence  of  these  hymns  was  perpetuated.'^  The  orthodox  teachers 
became  alarmed.  To  arrest  the  evil  tendencies  they  saw  that  like 
Ephraem  of  means  must  be  used.  Ephraem,  deacon  of  Edessa,  a 
Edessa.  contemporary  and  friend  of   Basil  the  Great,  entered 

upon  this  work  with  intensest  zeal.  He  organized  female  choirs,' 
taught  them  hymns  which  embodied  sublimest  spiritual  sentiments, 
set  to  song  the  fundamental  truths  of  the  nativity,  baptism,  passion, 
resurrection,  and  ascension  of  the  Lord,  and  required  the  deaconesses 
to  assemble  in  the  church  on  all  Sabbaths  and  feast  days.  On  these 
occasions  he  was  present  as  leader  to  teach  them  musical 
notation  and  the  laws  of  poetic  rhythm.  He  believed 
that  this  was  the  surest  means  of  gaining  the  goodwill  and  kindly 
aid  of  the  people,  and  of  breaking  the  power  of  his  opponents.* 
Sozomen  ^  informs  us  that  from  that  time  the  Syrians  sang  the  odes 
of  Ephraem  according  to  the  methods  indicated  by  Harmonius,^  the 

'  Ephraem  of  Syria,  in  his  Homilies  against  Heresies,  bears  frequent  testimony  to 
the  influence  of  Bardesanes. 

^  "  For  these  thinos  Bardesanes  Uttered  in  his  writings — 

He  composed  odes,  And  mingled  them  with  music ; 

He  harmonized  Psalms  And  introduced  measures." — Homily  53,  Against  Heretics. 

"  In  the  resorts  of  Bardesanes  Are  songs  and  melodies. 

For  seeing  that  young  persons  Loved  sweet  music. 

By  the  harmony  of  his  songs  He  corrupted  their  minds." — Homily  1. 

V.  Burgess's  translation.  Hymns  and  Homilies  of  Ephraem  Syriis,  pp.  xxx  and  xxxi. 

^  Burgess  translates  this  term,  "  Daughters  of  the  convent."  Hymns  and  Homilies, 
p.  xxxviii. 

*  Acta  St.  Epraem,  c.  xxii. 

*  Hist.  Eccles.,  lib.  iii,  cap.  xvi,  "  Ex  eo  tempore  Syri  juxta  numeros  canticorum 
Harmonii  scripta  Ephraira  psallere  solent." 

*  If  the  accounts  of  Sozomen  and  Tlieodoret  can  be  relied  upon,  Harmonius,  the  son 
of  Bardesanes,  reduced  the  Syrian  literature  to  measures  and  musical  laws  which  had 
been  suggested  by  tiie  Greeks.  He  also  adapted  these  to  the  uses  of  choirs,  and  by 
the  beauty  of  his  compositions  allured  his  hearers  to  embrace  the  heretical  doctrines. 
Sozomen:  Life  of  Ephraem,,  lib.  iii,  cap.  16.     Tlieodoret:  Hist.  Eccl.,  lib.  iv,  cap.  29. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN   POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY.  313 

son  of  Bardesanes;  and  Theodoret  affirms  that  these  hymns  proved 
to  be  efficacious  medicine  to  arrest  the  spread  of  heresy. 

The  number  of  Ephraem's  poems  is  unknown.'    It  is  certain,  how- 
ever, that  they  were  numerous,  and  covered  a  very  wide   His  poems  uu- 
range  of  subjects — theology,  exegesis,  hymnology,  etc.   merous. 
His  hymns  were  widely  used  both  by  the  schismatic  sects  of  the 
Sja-ian  church  and  by  the  orthodox  Christians  of  the  East. 

Of  the  metrical  laws  governing  these  Syrian  poems  little  is  known. 
It  seems,  however,  that  the  meters  were  regulated  by  the  Their  metrical 
number  of  the  syllables,  and  not  by  the  quantity,  as  in  principles. 
Greek  and  Latin  verse.  The  Latin  and  Greek  could  vary  the  number 
of  svllables  in  a  verse  according  to  their  quantity,  but  the  Syrian  seems 
to  have  adhered  rigidly  to  the  syllabic  order,  and  thus  gi-eatly  hin- 
dered the  beauty,  flexibility,  and  variety  of  utterance  which  produce 
the  greatest  charm. 

"  The  strophes  vary  in  length  from  four  verses  to  twelve,  sixteen, 
and  even  twenty.  Many  of  them  are  uniform  in  their  structure, 
every  verse  containing  the  same  number  of  syllables ;  but  others  are 
studiously  varied,  exhibiting  great  art  and  labor  in  their  Burgess's opin- 
construction.  .  .  .  Indeed,  Ephraem  seems  to  have  had  ion. 
a  nice  ear  for  variety,  and  if  what  has  already  been  said  respecting 
the  dislike  of  his  countrymen  to  the  monotony  of  the  psalms  is  cor- 
rect, he  must  have  gratified  the  most  fastidious  seeker  of  novelties."  * 

The  attention  given  by  Ephraem  to  antiphonal  singing,  by  which 
the  interest  and  attractiveness  of  the  public  assemblies  could  be  pro- 
moted, compelled  a  careful  arrangement  of  the  liturgy.  His  contribu- 
tions to  the  Church  of  his  own  time  were  varied  and  noble,  and  the 
influence  of  his  labors  in  the  promotion  of  Christian  hymnology 
was  positive  and  widespread. 

The  following  will  give  a  good  idea  of  the  character  of  his 
poetry:  ^ 

Canon  LX. 
necessity  for  preparation  for  heath. 

1. 

Pity  me,  0  Father !  in  tliy  tender  mercy, 
And  at  thy  tribunal,  let  thy  love  be  with  me ; 

'  There  has  been  a  tendency  to  ascribe  to  him  every  thing  extant  in  the  metrical 
forms  of  Bardesanes  and  Harmonius,  and  which  was  used  in  the  Syrian  sacred  offices. 
But  this  is  evidently  erroneous.  Many  metrical  compositions  in  the  Ephraemitic 
rhythm  are  plainly  the  work  of  other  hands,  v.  Asseraau :  Bibliotheca  Orientalis, 
torn,  i,  p.  60. 

"^  Burgess:    Op.  cit,  p.  liv. 

^  Translated  by  Burgess  :  Metrical  Hymns  of  Ephraem  Syrus,  pp.  56,  57. 


314  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

And  make  me  to  rise  up  from  the  dust, 

Iq  the  day  when  thy  standard  shall  be  revealed. 

0  Father  1  whose  lovhigkindness  formed  me, 

And  who  at  the  first  fashioned  our  image  ; 

Let  thy  nod  raise  our  bodies  again, 

In  the  day  when  the  world  is  destroyed. 
2. 

At  the  appearing  of  Jesus  our  King, 
Example    of  Tlie  buried  of  all  ages  shall  stand  up; 

his  poetry.  His  living  voice  shall  call  loudly, 

And  awaken  every  sleeper  ; 

What  terror  shall  be  to  all  men, 

When  the  thrones  are  set  in  order ! 

How  will  the  wicked  be  confounded, 

And  all  be  turned  into  hell ! 

3. 

The  day  of  judgment  is  at  hand, 

And  all  faults  shall  be  disclosed ; 

Who  then  can  be  pure  in  thy  sight. 

In  the  hour  when  the  books  are  opened? 

For  there  are  no  penitents, 

No  offerers  of  supplications ; 

For  that  is  the  day  of  doom 

In  which  no  word  or  speech  is  uttered ! 

§  3.  The  Greek  Hymnology. 

While  no  hymns  in  the  present  collections  of  the  Greek  Church, 
or  which  are  used  in  its  authorized  service,  are  older  than  the  eighth 
century,  sacred  poetic  compositions  in  Greek  by  the  fathers  of  that 

„^     „  ,  church  probably  date  from  the  second.^    The  well-known 

The   Pedagog-  f  j  •       t-, 

us  of  Clement  work  of  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Pedagogus,  written  pri- 
of  Alexandria,  j^g^j-^jy  f qj.  ^^  defence  and  propagation  of  the  orthodox 
faith,  closes  with  two  hymns  which  were  well  calculated  to  promote 
the  religious  fervor  of  the  worshipper.  Both  are  clearly  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  in  opposition  to  the  growing  and 
threatening  heresies.  These  are  probably  the  oldest  Christian  hymns 
which  have  been  preserved  to  our  day.^  They  have  often  been  trans- 
lated, yet  are  not  easily  adjusted  to  the  wants  of  the  modern  Church." 

1  August! :  Denkwiirdigkeiten,  Bd.  v,  s.  292.  The  "  candle  hymn  "  of  the  Greek 
Christians  has  been  claimed  to  be  very  early,     v.  Egbert  Smyth,  Andover  Rev.,  188Y. 

^  Daniel :  Thesaurus  Hymnologicus,  iii,  pp.  3,  4.  Some  good  archaeologists  regard 
the  Gloria  in  Excelsis  as  of  earlier  origin.    Rambach :  Anth.  christ.  Gesange,  Bd.  i,  s.  35. 

3  Probably  Dr.  Dexter's  free  modernization,  while  it  fails  to  reproduce  the  spirit  of 
the  original,  is  yet  the  happiest  that  has  appeared  in  English—"  Shepherd  of  Tender 
Youth,"  etc.  Piper:  Evangelischer  Kaletider,  1868,  ss.  17-39,  has  given  the  text  and 
an  excellent  German  translation,  as  well  as  a  good  analysis,  and  a  good  literal  trans- 
lation has  been  given  by  Schaff :  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  vol.  ii,  p.  230. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY.  315 

Gregory  Nazianzen,  of  true  Christian  parentage,  was  educated 
in  the  best  schools  of  Cjesarea,  Alexandria,  and  Athens.  He  had 
for  fellow-students  Basil,  Gregory  of  Nyssa,  and  the  future  emperor, 
Julian  the  Apostate,  His  earnest  devotion  to  the  intei-ests  Gregory  of 
of  the  Church  after  his  elevation  to  the  see  of  Constan-  Nazianzen. 
tinople,  and  his  florid,  fervent  eloquence,  joined  to  a  lowly  humility 
of  manner  and  life,  were  the  means  of  restoring  many  churches  of 
his  diocese  to  the  prosperity  which  they  had  enjo3^ed  forty  years  be- 
fore. His  poems  were  numerous,  and  glowed  with  a  true  religious 
fervor  well  suited  to  stimulate  the  Christian  life.  Nevertheless, 
scarcely  a  trace  of  his  poetry  is  preserved  in  the  authorized  oftice- 
books  of  the  Greek  Church.' 

Synesius  of  Ptolemais,  a  well-trained  scholar,  became  bishop  of 

his  city  late  in  life.    Many  notices  of  his  poetic  writings 

.  .     .  Synesius. 

are  found  in  the  Christian  fathers,  but  only  ten  poems 

have  been  preserved.  While  he  had  a  reputation  among  his  con- 
temporaries for  great  jjoetic  gifts,  his  poems  were  but  poorly 
adapted  to  the  public  religious  services,  and  have  never  been  incor- 
porated into  the  authorized  collections  of  the  Eastern  Church.  His 
influence  as  a  writer  of  hymns  seems  to  have  been  considerable, 

but  it  was  arreatly  lessened  bv  the  introduction  of  the 

.  His  defects. 

philosophic  adages  of  the  pagan  schools,  and  by  his 

too  careful  imitation  of  the  style  of  the  heathen  poets.''  In  his 
hymns  Platonic  notions  obscure  and  well-nigh  supplant  Christian 
doctrine. 

While  the  surviving  poems  of  Gregory,  Synesius,  Euthimius,  and 
Sophronius  exhibit  considerable  regularity,  and  some  may  be  re- 
duced to  metrical  order  as  of  anapests  and  iambics.  Decadence  of 
Greek  poetry  had  already  fallen  into  decay,  and  the  sacred  poetry. 
Eastern  Church  had  yielded  to  the  prevalent  artificiality  and  clamor 
for  the  strange  and  the  extravagant  in  poetic  form  and  content. 

'  Rambach :  Op.  cit,  p.  48.  For  a  translation  and  note  of  his  Uov  6e  TiSyoi 
TTTepdevTe^ \  kic  aepa,  v.  Daniel:  TJiesaurus  Hymnologicus,  etc.,  iii,  11.  Also  SchafE: 
Christ  in  Song : 

"  Where  are  the  winged  words  ? 
Lost  in  the  air,"  etc. 

V.  Migne :  Patrologia  Grceca,  vol.  3V,  p.  1346.     Lines  under  irpoq  eavrov,  etc. 

^v.  Christ  andParanikas:  Anthologia  Grceca carminum  Ohristianorum,  Lipsite,  1871. 
This  work  has  been  the  means  of  awakening  new  interest  in  the  Greek  h}'mnology. 
Its  four  prologoniena  are  packed  with  learned  discussion.  1.  On  the  Greek  Christ- 
ian poets.  2.  On  tlie  different  kinds  of  ecclesiastical  hymns.  3.  On  the  rhyth- 
mical laws  of  the  Byzantine  hymns.  4.  On  the  B^-^zantine  music.  This  work  gives 
the  first  place  to  Synesius,  and  reproduces  iu  excellent  form  the  Greek  of  his  ten 
surviving  hymns. 


316  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

Anatolius,  of  Constantinople,  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury, endeavored  to  drop  the  classic  metre,  and  to  de- 
velop a  form  of  poetry  more  in  harmony  with  the  wants 
and  spirit  of  the  Church.  In  this  he  was  but  partially  successful, 
Neale  has  given  an  English  version  of  the  hymn  on  Christ  stilling 
the  tempest  (^o^spd^-  rpiKviiiag),  which  ranks  among  the  best  speci- 
mens of  the  Greek  hymnology: 

1. 

Fierce  was  the   wild  billow 

Dark  was  the  night : 
Oars  labored  heavily ; 

Foam  gleamed  with  white ; 
Mariners  trembled ; 

Peril  was  nigh ; 
Then  said  the  Son  of  God, 

"  Peace  I  it  is  I.  " 


Ridge  of  the  mountain  wave, 

Lower  thy  crest ! 
Wail  of  Euroclydon 

Be  thou  at  rest ! 
Peril  can  none  be — 

Sorrow  must  fly — 
Where  saith  the  Light  of  light, 

"Peace!  it  is  I." 

3. 

Jesus,  dehverer! 

Come  thou  to  me  ; 
Soothe  thou  my  voyaging 

Over  hfe's  sea ! 
Thou,  when  the  storm  of  death 

Roars,  sweeping  by. 
Whisper,  0  Truth  of  truth ! 

"  Peace !  it  is  I." 

Even  less  satisfactory  were  the  attempts  of  Nonnus  of  Panopolis  in 
Egypt,  of  the  Empress  Eudoxia,  and  of  Paul  Silentiarius.'  Most 
of  the  Greek  hymnology  of  the  first  five  and  one  half  centuries  lacks 
the  simplicity,  earnestness,  and  depth  which  characterized  the  life 
of  the  earlier  Church.     A  complete  collection  of  the  hymns  and 

'  The  description  (eKfpaai^)  of  Saint  Sophia,  in  poetic  measure,  by  Paul  Silentiarius 
has  helped  us  more  fully  to  appreciate  the  grandeur  of  this  temple,  and  ttie  dedica- 
tory services  herein  described  illustrate  the  ritual  of  the  Eastern  Churcli  in  the 
reign  of  Justinian.  This  work  has  been  translated  and  ably  annotated  by  Dr.  Kar- 
tiim  in  the  appendix  to  Salzenberg's  work :  "  AU-christliche  Baudenhnale  von  Con- 
stantinople  vom  V Ms  XII  Jahrhundert.  Berlin,  1854. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN   POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY.  317 

chants  of  this  church  during  the  first  six  centuries  furnishes  little 
that  can  worthily  compare  with  the  richer  and  more  devotional  spirit 
of  the  West.> 

§  4.  The  Poetry  and  Hymnology  of  the  Western  Church. 

To  estimate  the  originality  and  creative  power  of  the  poets  of  the 
Western  Church  it  is  necessary  to  make  careful  discriminations. 
The  ecclesiastical  poetry  of  the  first  centuries  is  divided  into  two 
distinct  classes;  namely,  the  descriptive  or  nai-rative,  two  kinds  of 
frequently  employing  high  panegyric,  and  the  lyric,  sacred  poetry. 
which  took  the  form  of  sacred  hymns  and  songs.^  The  first  con- 
forms quite  closely  to  the  then  prevalent  type  and  spirit.  This 
style  only  had  been  successfully  cultivated  by  the  later  Roman 
poets.  Both  heathen  and  Christians  alike  imitated  the  writers 
of  the  classic  period,  who  had  made  the  exploits  of  gods  and 
heroes  the  theme  of  their  noblest  verse.  The  descriptive  and  nar- 
rative poetry  of  the  Roman  world  during  the  first  three  Christian 
centuries  is,  however,  characterized  by  an  extravagance  of  panegyric 
which  is  almost  entirely  wanting  in  the  literature  of  the  golden  age. 
Nor  are  the  Christian  writers  of  the  same  period  seem-  ^  ^igh  pane- 
ingly  more  chaste  in  style  or  more  sober  in  the  treatment  ^^ric. 
of  their  themes.  The  lives  and  fate  of  their  martyred  heroes  and 
saints  being  the  favorite  subjects  which  they  treat,  their  style  is  en- 
tirely conformable  to  heathen  models.  To  make  known  to  the 
world  the  history  of  those  who  had  given  their  lives  to  attest  the 
verity  of  the  new  religion,  to  exhibit  the  mighty  supporting  power 
and  completest  victoiy  of  faith,  and  to  awaken  in  others  a  burning 
zeal  for  the  truth  as  it  was  in  Jesus,  were  the  high  aims  of  these 

'  From  the  splendid  qualities  of  the  Hellenic  mind,  and  from  the  rich  inheritance 
which  the  Greeks  of  the  first  centuries  had  entered  into,  we  might  antecedently  ex- 
pect much  from  the  hymnology  of  this  church.  These  expectations  are,  however, 
sadly  disappointed.  The  classic  age  of  hymnology  in  the  Eaptern  Cimrch  did  not 
begin  before  about  A.  D.  650,  hence  hes  outside  of  the  period  of  our  inquiry.  The 
iconoclastic  controversy  gave  inspiration  to  the  hymnology.  This  Greek  sacred 
poetry  is  of  immense  volume,  filling,  according  to  Neale  {v.  Hymns  of  the  Eastern 
Church,  Introduction,  p.  xli),  4,000  closely  printed,  double-column  quarto  pages. 
This  mass  of  material  is  becoming  somewhat  better  known  to  the  West  through 
the  devoted  labors  of  Neale  in  England,  Cardinal  Pitra  in  Italy,  Vormbaum  (DanieVs 
Thesaurus,  vol.  iii)  and  Christ  in  Germany.  Yet  the  judgment  of  Neale  with  regard 
to  the  Menosa  (the  books  containing  the  services  for  each  month)  is  generally 
accepted  as  just:  "They  contain  a  deluge  of  worthless  compositions;  tautology 
till  it  becomes  almost  sickening;  the  merest  commonplace  again  and  again  decked  in 
the  tawdry  shreds  of  tragic  language,  and  twenty  or  thirty  times  repeating  the 
same  thought  in  slightly  varying  terms."  v.   Op.  cit.,  4th  ed.,  p.  88. 

'  Bahr:    Geschichte  der  romische  Literatur,  bd.,  iv,  §1. 


318  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

narrative  and  descriptive  poems.  Somewhat  later  is  noticed  a  ten- 
Christian  doc-  •^^^^^J  ^^  ^^^  ^^^  Christian  doctrine  to  poetic  measure, 
trine  in  poetic  and  to  clothe  the  biblical  narratives  in  poetic  garb.  To 
supply  the  lack  of  copies  of  the  sacred  books,  their 
most  important  truths  were  taught  to  the  Christian  congregations 
in  the  popular  hexameter  verse.  The  chief  difference  between  the 
heathen  and  Christian  poets  was  that  the  latter  adhere  strictly  to 
the  truths  of  history,  and  there  was  in  their  writings  a  spirit  which 
could  be  inspired  only  by  a  system  that  cared  for  the  sufferings  of 
humanity,  and  could  cast  light  on  the  destiny  of  the  race.' 

The  other  class  of  Christian  poetry  was  wholly  different.  Even 
Lyric  poetry  an  ii^  the  golden  age  of  Roman  literature  lyric  poetry  seems 
exotic  in  Rome,  ^q  have  been  an  exotic,^  while  during  the  first  period  of 
the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  it  had  become  almost  totally 
neglected :  it  was  revived  through  certain  noted  poems  which 
belong  to  its  hymnology.  It  Avas  animated  by  a  spirit  wholly 
novel,  and  it  evinced  a  noteworthy  richness  and  originality.  Its 
High  character  introduction  into  the  common  services  of  the  Church 
of  Christian  required  that  it  be  simple,  earnest,  and  popular.  Some 
''"^'  of  the  descriptive  and  narrative  poetry  of  the  fourth 

century  is  in  imitation  of  the  masters  of  the  best  period  of  Roman 
literature,  while  the  lyrics  are  original  not  only  in  their  spirit 
and  depth  of  feeling,^  but  in  their  rhythmic  forms  as  well.  In 
this  species  of  literature  the  Christian  Church  of  the  fourth  century 
stands  out  in  bold  and  honorable  relief.* 

The  poems  sometimes  ascribed  to  Tertullian,  because  in  some 
manuscripts  they  are  associated  with  his  name,  are  probably  the 
production  of  a  later  author.      Several  w^orks  of  this  nature,  as 

'  "  The  old  liymns,  from  Ambrose  to  Gregory  the  Great,  still  bear  in  their  earnest 
and  powerful  lineaments  the  portrait  of  the  conquering  martyr  period  of  the  Church. 
Their  entire  content  is  derived  from  the  new  and  sublime  view  of  the  world  which, 
in  opposition  to  the  scope  of  heathen  thought,  sustained  and  filled  the  souls  of  the 
Christians.  Subsequently  there  was  developed  much  that  was  more  delicate  and  cul- 
tured, but  seldom,  if  ever,  has  there  been  seen  any  thing  of  greater  purity  and  sim- 
plicity."    Wackernagel :  Das  deutsche  Kirchenlied,  Vrei&ce, 

^Bahr:    Gesch.d.  rom.  Lit,  Bd.  iv,  s.  2. 

^Bahr:    Op.  cit,  Bd.  iv,  s.  10.     Augusli:  Denkwiirdigkeiten,  Bd.  v,  s.  292. 

*  "  The  hymnology  of  the  "Western  Church  may  be  conveniently  divided  into  three 
Three  eras  of  principal  eras.  The  first,  which,  borrowing  a  term  from  architecture, 
Latin  hym-  we  may  name  the  Romanesque  period,  extends  to  the  conclusion  of 
no  ogy.  j^j^g  pontificate  of  Gregory  the  Great,  and  is,  as  a  general  thing,  dis- 

tinguished by  the  absence  of  rhyme.  ...  In  this  period  the  Church  was  unshack- 
ling herself  from  the  fetters  of  metre;  in  the  second  she  was  bringing  out  all  the  ca- 
pabilities of  rhyme ;  in  the  third  she  submitted  to  tlie  slavish  bondage  of  a  revived 
paganism."     Neale:  Mediceval  Hymns  and  Sequences,  London,  1851,  Introduction. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN   POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY.  319 

Marcio,  dejucUcio  Domini,  Genesis,  Sodoma,  etc.,  both  from  inter- 
nal evidence  of  style  and  content,  as  well  as  from  posi-  poems  attrib- 
tive  testimony,  must  be  assi£?ned  to  a  period  considerably  "^f,*^    ^°  ^  '^^^' 

■^ '  ,  *  J^  •'     tulliannotgen- 

later  than  that  of  Tertullian.     Many  poems  bearing  his   uine. 
name  can  no  more  be  attributed  to  him  than  to  Virgil  or  Homer.' 

If  this  opinion  is  well  founded,  then  must  Commodianus,  who 
lived  about  A.  D.  220-250,  be  regarded  as  the  earliest 

X     ,•        /->■!     •   .•  .         \  11  1  Commodianus. 

Latin  Christian  poet  whose  works  have  been  pre- 
served.^ Veiy  little  is  known  of  his  personal  history.  According 
to  his  own  testimony  he  was  of  heathen  parentage,  but  by  the 
reading  of  the  sacred  Scriptures  was  converted  to  Christianity. 
From  his  use  of  the  Latin  language  and  his  manifest  acquaint- 
ance with  its  literature  we  infer  his  Roman  descent.  Even  the 
place  of  his  labors  is  not  certainly  known,  but  his  zeal  for  Chris- 
tianity, as  against  both  Jews  and  heathen,  is  apparent  in  the 
poems  which  have  been  preserved.  Only  two  are  known  to 
exist:  the  Instructiones,  and  the  Carmen  Apologeticum  adversus 
JudcBOS  et  Gentes.  The  former,  which  appeared  about 
A.  D.  249,^  shows  a  careless  indifference  to  the  laws  of 
prosody,  and  appeals  to  the  tastes  of  the  less  educated  classes.  It 
is,  as  its  name  indicates,  a  collection  of  teachings,  in  acrostic  form, 
addressed  in  part  to  the  heathen,  pointing  out  the  vanity  of  their 
worship  of  the  gods,  and  exhorting  them  to  seek  a  better  system. 
In  part  it  is  addressed  to  the  Jews,  to  win  them  to  Christianity; 
while  the  last  part  is  prepared  for  the  Christians  them-  xheir  charac- 
selves.  The  whole  writing  evinces  strong  moral  con-  ter  and  value. 
viction  and  Christian  zeal  for  the  truth,  but  contains  doctrinal  errors 
which  seem  to  have  been  disavowed  by  the  Church  authorities  at  a 
later  period.*  The  Carmen  Apologeticum,  a  later  production,  con- 
sisting of  more  than  one  thousand  lines,  is  of  somewhat  greater 
value  both  in  style  and  treatment.  It  furnishes  a  valuable  contribu- 
tion to  the  history  of  Chiliasm,  and  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
during  the  third  century. 

Several  poems  have  been  attributed  to  the  celebrated  church 
father,  Lactantius,  many  of  w^hose  writings  have  been 

I  3,ot3.nt'iiis 

preserved.    These  are  often  bound  up  with  editions  of  his 

works,  thus  expressing  the  opinion  of  the  editors  respecting  their 

'Dupin:  BihUotheca  nova  Audorum  Ecclesiasticorum,  i,  p.  141.  Translation  under 
the  title  A  New  History  of  Ecclesiastical  Writers,  vol.  i,  p.  87. 

'Bernhardy:  Grundriss  der  romischen  Literatur,  5te  Aufg.,  s.  986.  Bahr:  Op.  cit, 
Bd.  iv,  §§  8,  9.  Commodianus's  description  of  himself  as  "Gazaeus"  probably  refers 
to  dependence  upon  the  Church  for  support  (gazoplii/lacium).     Wace:  Diet.  Ch.  Biog. 

2  Teuffel,  W.  S. :   Oeschichte  der  romischen  Literatur,  4te  aufl.,  Leipzig,  1882. 

♦  Bahr  :    0]).  cit.,  Bd.  iv,  s.  30.     Teuffel :   Op.  cit.,  s.  900. 


320  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ART. 

authenticity.     But  it  is  higlily  probable  that  the  poems  de  Phoenice, 
de  Pasc/ui,  and  de  JPassione  Dofnitd  belong  to  a  later  age.' 

The  Spanish  writer,  Juvencus,  who  lived  in  the  first  half  of  the 
fourth  century,  is  the  first  Christian  poet  of  eminence  whose  works 

are  clearly  authentic.  While  little  of  his  personal  his- 
Juvencus.  ^  i         i  t      ,  ,         t    i 

tory  has  been  preserved,  there  seems  to  be  slight  ques- 
tion of  his  authorship  of  the  Historia  Evangelica  and  of  the  Liber 
in  GenesmJ  The  first  is  a  metrical  version  of  the  Gospel  history, 
based  chiefly  on  Matthew,  though  having  reference  to  the  other 
evangelists  as  well.  It  consists  of  more  than  three  thousand  lines. 
It  imitates  the  heroic  verse  of  the  heathen  writers,  and,  for  the  age 
Character  and  ^^  which  it  is  written,  the  Style  is  flowing,  easy,  and 
purpose  of  his  pleasing.  It  may  be  called  the  first  Christian  epic* 
poems.  r^Yie  design  of  this  metrical  version  was  to  bring  the 

principles  of  the  gospels  to  the  attention  of  the  heathen  world. ^ 

While  iu  the  ordinary  form  in  wliich  they  were  then  preserved 
there  was  a  contempt  for  these  writings  on  the  part  of  the  learned, 
an  imitation  of  the  great  poets,  it  was  believed,  would  be  eifective 
in  awakening  a  wider  interest  in  a  religion  too  little  understood. 
Like  attempts  were  made  in  the  time  of  Charlemagne,  by  the  Saxon 
and  German  ecclesiastics,  for  the  more  rapid  education  of  the  com- 
mon people  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Church.  The  Ziber  in  Genesin  is 
a  similar  attempt  to  popularize  the  historic  writings  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament Scriptures.  These  are  the  first  examples  of  a  metric  form 
which  afterward  frequently  appeared  in  the  poetry  of  the  Church. 

Jerome,  Isodorus,  and  other  ancient  writers  mention  with  great 
respect  the  Christian  poet  Hilarius  of  Poitiers,  He  was  a  contem- 
porary of  the  great  fathers  Ephraem,  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Basil, 
Hilarius  and  ^^^  Damasus,  and  also  shared  their  anxious  labors  to 
his  works.  hold  the  Church  steadfast  to  the  orthodox  faith.  Dur- 
ing his  banishment  to  the  East,  Hilarius  became  convinced  of  the 
effectiveness  of  Church  songs  in  the  public  service.  On  his  return 
he,  therefore,  composed  a  number  of  hymns  for  popular  use,  and 
compiled  a  hymnbook  for  the  congregations  of  his  diocese,  which 
has  unfortunately  been  lost.  The  genuineness  of  several  poems 
formerly  ascribed  to  him  has  been  questioned.     While   it  is  difiicult 

iBahr:   Op.  cit.,  Bd.  iv,  s,  35.     Contra,  Teuffel:   Op.  cii.,  s.  982,  who  attributes  de 
Phcenice  to  him. 

"Teuffel :  Op.  cit,  s.  943,  questions  the  ascription  of  Libe)'  in  Genesin  to  Juvencus 
V.  R.  Peiper :  In  the  "Vienna  Corp.  Script.  Eccl.  lat.  He  ascribes  the  authorship  to 
Cyprian,  Bishop  of  Toulon,  v.  J.  T.  Hatfield :  In  American  Journal  of  Philology, 
vol.  xi.  No.  1,  p.  2,  where  objections  to  Juvencus's  authorship  are  given. 

^  Jacob:  Die  Kunst  bn  Dienste  der  Kirche,  s.  3*71. 

"•  J.  T.  Hatfield:  Juve7icus,  1890. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY.  321 

to  determine  with  accuracy  the  extent  of  his  work,  the  beginning 
of  a  genuine  Latin  liymnology  is  usually  ascribed  to 
him.'     The  most  celebrated  of  his  hymns  are  the  latin-   JJ^  Latin^hym- 
ization  of  the  Gloria  in  J^xcelsis,  lieata  nobis  gaudia,   noiogy. 
and  Lucis  largitor  splendide. 

Through  the  liberty  of  worship  guaranteed  by  Constantine  the 
services  of  the  Church  assumed  more  regularity,  and  the  growing 
splendor  of  the  basilicas  occasioned  a  growing  demand  for  instruc- 
tive and  impressive  cei'emonies.  The  leaders  of  the  increasing  de- 
Church  now  gave  increasing  attention  to  the  improve-  maud  for 
ment  of  the  forms  of  public  worship.  The  hymns  ^y'""*- 
were  more  carefully  written  and  adjusted  to  the  improved  music. 
So  rapidly  had  its  membership  multiplied,  and  so  widely  had  its 
influence  extended,  that  the  Church  no  longer  deemed  it  expedient 
to  leave  the  public  worship  to  uncertain  tradition  or  to  the  mere 
caprice  of  individuals.  To  secure  uniformity  in  the  more  public 
services  there  must  be  a  fixed  and  authorized  liturgy."  Also,  the 
memory  of  the  heroic  men  and  women  who  had  attested 
their  faith  by  suffering  a  martyr's  death  now  became  m^reasing  at- 
more  cherished.  Every  act  was  sought  to  be  perpetu-  tention  to  lit- 
ated.  The  monuments  were  adorned  with  inscriptions,  ^'"Si^^- 
and  churches  covered  the  spots  where  the  sacred  dust  reposed. 
These  resting-places  of  the  holy  departed  became  sacred  shrines.^ 

Among  the  most  zealous  promoters  of   this  work  was  Damasus, 
bishop  of  Rome,  who  was  born  about  the  beginning  of 
the  fourth  century.      His  zeal   for  the   doctrines   and 
ritual  of  the  Church  was  wellnigh  consuming.      To  him  is  attrib- 
uted the  regulation  of  the  morning  and  evening  hymns.     He  was 
among  the  most  earnest  promoters  of  the  hymnology  of  the  Latin 
Church,   and  zealous  for   its    orderly  arrangement.      The  number 
of  his  poems  still  extant  cannot   be    determined  with   dumber     and 
certainty,  but   more   than  thirty   are  of  unquestioned  character     of 
genuineness.      Among   these   are  but  two   of    a   lyric   ^'*  iiyDnis. 
character;  one  to  St.  Andrew,  the  other  to  St.  Agatha.     These  are 
constructed  upon  a  model  almost  entirely  unknown  to  the  Christian 
poetry  of  that  period,  since  the  latter  is  in  rhyme,  and  has,  on  this 

'  According  to  Neale  he  begins  the  second  period  of  Latin  hymnology. 

'  The  discussion  of  these  attempts  belongs  to  the  liistory  of  Church  canons  and 
liturgies.  These  subjects  are  ably  treated  in  such  works  as  Beveridge :  Codex  con. 
Eccl.  Prim.;  Ultzen:  ConsUtutiones  Apostolicce;  Chase:  Constitutions  and  Canons  of 
the  Apostles ;  Muratori:  Liturgia  Romana  vetus ;  Palmer:  Origines  Liturgicce ;  Dan- 
iel :    Codex  Liturgicus,  etc. ;  Neale  :   Tetralogia  liturgica,  etc.     v.  Bk.  III. 

'  For  the  influeuce  of  this  sentiment  on  Christian  architecture,  etc.,  see  pp.  206,  207. 


333  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

account,  been  thought  by  some  writers '  of  authority  to  belong  to 
a  later  age.  The  inscriptions  which  he  composed  for  the  se- 
pulchral monuments  of  the  popes  and  martyrs  share  in  the  general 
departure  from  the  purity  and  simplicity  of  the  earlier  classical 
Indulges  in  niasters,  and  abound  in  the  excessive  panegyric  which 
panegyric.  ^j^g  heathen  writers  of  his  age  had  adopted,  and  which 
is  a  marked  symptom  of  decadence  in  style  and  taste.'' 

The  fourth  century  was  an  age  of  fiercest  conflict  in  Church  and 
State.  The  means  by  which  Constantine  had  come  to  the  throne  were 
such  as  only  a  desperate  condition  of  society  could  justify.  The 
toleration  granted  to  the  Church,  its  adoption  as  the  religion  of  the 
Disturbed  con-  state,  and  the  forceful  suppression  of  the  heathen 
ciety°  uLde'r  worship  awakened  the  hostility  of  a  large  and  learned 
Constantine.  class  of  the  Roman  world.  It  was,  therefore,  not  strange 
that  on  the  death  of  the  first  Christian  emperor  a  great  revulsion  of 
feeling  ensued  and  heathenism  attempted  to  reassert  itself. 

Ui^on  the  downfall  of  Licinius  multitudes  of  the  heathen  had  ac- 
cepted Christianity.  They  donned  the  white  robes  of  baptism,  and 
the  churches  were  crowded  with  catechumens.  Through  an  evident 
Perils  to  the  want  of  deep  intellectual  and  spiritual  conviction  on  the 
Church.  part  of  many  of  these  nominal  Christians  their  accession 

became  a  source  of  weakness  rather  than  of  strength.  Moreover, 
a  majority  of  the  Roman  nobility  still  clung  with  fondness  to  the 
ancient  institutions,  and  held  the  masses  loyal  to  the  ancient 
religion.  Within  the  territory  of  the  Eastern  Empire  the  new  doc- 
The  tenacity  trines  had  been  more  popular.  While  the  strong  influ- 
of  heathen  be-  ence  of  a  civil  or  military  aristocracy  was  there  want- 
ing, nevertheless  the  great  schools  at  Athens,  Ephesus, 
and  Antioch  were  still  under  the  direction  of  heathen  teachers  who 
by  their  zeal  and  ability  attracted  to  their  precincts  sons  of  the 
most  powerful  families.  Thus  an  aristocracy  of  learning  was  ar- 
rayed against  the  Church,  now  weakened  by  its  fierce  doctrinal 
struggles.*  The  imperial  power  exerted  by  Constantine  in  the  de- 
fence and  promotion  of  the  Church  had  become  weakened  through 
the  contentions  of  his  sons,  and  the  cruel  suspicions  of  rulers  had 
wellnigh  annihilated  the  Flavian  family.  But  the  hopes  of 
heathenism  now  centered  in  the  person  of  Julian.     This  emperor, 

'  G-rimm,  W. :  Zur  GeschicJite  des  Reims,  in  the  memoirs  of  the  Berlin  Academy 
of  Sciences  for  year  1851,  p.  68.^>,  cited  by  Bahr. 

^Bahr:  Op.  cit.,  iv,  18.  De  Rossi:  Inscripttones  Christiance,  i,  329,  has  called 
attention  to  the  remarkable  neatness  of  these  sepulchral  inscriptions ;  v,  also  his 
Roma  Sotterranea,  i,  p.  Ivi.     For  Damasene  inscriptions  see  Plate  VII. 

^  Uhlhorn  :   Conflict  of  Christianity  with  Heathenism,  bk.  iii,  cli.  iii. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY.  333 

the  object  of  the  intensest  hatred  of  his  enemies,  the  noble  advo- 
cate of  philosophy  and  tolerance  in  the  judgment  of  his  junan  and  his 
apologists,  certainly  aimed  at  the  restoration  of  the  poi'cy- 
heathen  religion  at  the  expense  of  Christianity.  His  profession  of 
impartial  toleration  was  contradicted  by  his  edicts  against  the  Church. 
The  law  requiring  the  restoration  of  the  heathen  temples  which 
had  been  destroyed  under  the  previous  reigns  bore  with  exceptional 
severity  upon  such  societies  as  had  removed  the  ancient  shrines, 
appropriated  the  valuable  ornaments,  and  on  the  old  sites  had 
erected  new  and  splendid  Christian  churches.  The  horrors  of  the 
grove  of  Daphne  near  Antioch '  were  by  no  means  exceptional,  and 
the  attitude  of  Julian  toward  their  promoters  clearly  reveals  the 
insincerity  of  his  professions  of  toleration. 

But  the  law  prohibiting  the  Christians  from  teaching  the  arts 
of  grammar  and  rhetoric  was,  if  possible,  still  more  wide-reaching 
in  its  consequences,  and  revealed  the  purpose  of  Julian  to  cast  upon 
the  Christian  doctrine  the  most  withering  contempt,  christians  pro- 
Since  the  education  of  the  Roman  youth  was  a  matter  hiwted  from 
of  strict  legal  control,  the  effect  of  the  edict  was  to  ^^^  '°^' 
banish  from  the  schools  all  Christian  teachers,  and  to  exclude 
from  those  which  the  Church  maintained  at  her  own  expense 
all  so  called  heathen  classical  authors.  Julian  firmly  believed 
that  the  consequence  of  this  prohibition  would  be  to  shut  up 
the  Christian  teachers  to  their  OAvn  sacred  books,  and,  inasmuch  as 
he  supposed  that  in  these  was  no  "perennial  fountain  of  truth," 
the  Church  would  certainly  be  reduced  to  a  mass  of  ignorant 
and  enthusiastic  devotees,  whose  utter  extinction  must  speedily  en- 
sue. The  effects  of  the  publication  of  this  edict  were  far  other  than 
the  mystical  emperor  had  anticipated.  This  was  the  occasion  of 
one  of  the  most  interesting  phases  of  Christian  literary  history. 

In  the  heathen  schools  alone  the  influence  of  classical  teaching 
could  be  enjoyed,  and  to  these  the  emperor  earnestly  in-  Effects  of  these 
vited  the  youth  of  the  realm.  He  supposed  that  this  in-  ^hrisuan  "cui° 
vitation  would  be  gladly  accepted,  and  that  a  new  gen-  ture. 
eration  might  thus  be  reared  who  would  reverence  the  ancient  in- 
stitutions  and  contribute  to  their  early  and  complete  restoration. 
But  the  Church  was  unwilling  to  entrust  her  children  to  this  heathen 
secular  tuition.  Moreover,  her  influence  must  be  lost  through  ne- 
glect of  her  youth.  The  result  of  the  edict  was  to  develop  a  Christ- 
ian poetry,  to  take  the  place  of  the  heathen  authors  who  had  been 
legally  excluded  from  the  schools  of  the  Church.  Instead  of  the 
epic  poems  with  which  the  professors  of  rhetoric  and  grammar 
'Gibbon:  Decline  and  Fall,  etc. ,  chap,  xxiii. 


324  ARCHEOLOGY   OP   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

had  familiarized  themselves,  a  class  of  able  Christian  teachers  at- 
tempted to  imitate  the  heathen  epic  by  substituting  biblical  charac- 
ters for  those  of  fable  and  tradition.  Thus  the  interest  in  Christian 
schools  was  maintained,  and  the  charge  of  ignorance  successfully 
met.  The  great  men  of  the  Church  who  were  engaged  in  this 
struggle  did  not  cease  their  efforts  even  after  Julian's  death.  The 
work  whose  beginning  he  had  compelled  went  forward,  greatly  to 
the  honor  and  to  the  edification  of  the  bod}^  of  believers.  Not  only 
were  important  poems  written  in  order  to  avert  the  evils  threatened 
by  the  imperial  edict,  but  theories  of  poetry  were  developed  which 
have  not  become  obsolete.' 

Perhaps  no  writer  of  the  fourth  century  more  clearly  and  beauti- 
PauUnus  of  ^^^^Y  expressed  the  principles  of  Christian  aesthetics 
Noia.  than   Paulinus    of    Nola.      In  his   poem   addressed   to 

Jovius  ^  we  find  these  brought  together  in  consecutive  order.  He 
first  claims  that  Christianity  provides  the  truest  and  noblest  subjects 
for  poetry;  that  the  fables  of  the  gods  have  amused  the  childhood 
His  theory  of  period  of  the  race;  that  to  yield  one's  self  to  the  Word 
poetry.  of  truth  is  worthy  of  the  adult  age  of  a  genuine  culture, 

and  of  the  most  conspicuous  talent.  "  Though  I  may  give  myself 
to  the  art  of  poetry  I  will  adhere  to  strict  historical  truthful- 
ness, since  it  should  be  unworthy  of  a  servant  of  Christ  to  indulge 
in  the  false  and  the  deceiving.  Such  art  may  be  pleasing  to  the 
heathen,  but  it  is  abhorrent  to  those  whose  master  is  the  Truth." 
The  subjects  of  Christian  poetry  are  so  vital  and  exalted  that  they 
give  a  higher  dignity  to  language,  ennoble  the  poet  himself,  and  be- 
stow upon  him  more  abundant  honor.  Faith  is  the  one  perfect  art, 
and  Christ  is  the  true  music,  since  he  first  restored  the  shattered 
harmonies  of  the  soul,  and  united  in  himself  the  divine  and  the 
human  spirit  which  were  before  so  widely  separated.  In  such  efforts 
the  poet  can  confidently  ask  the  aid  of  the  Creator  of  all  things. 
Therefore,  he  will  not  invoke  the  Muses,  nor  to  them  ascribe  praises, 
but  he  will  rely  upon  Christ,  who  for  us  became  incarnate  and  re- 
deemed the  world  through  his  own  blood.  He  will  invoke  Him — 
"  Pour  thyself  into  my  heart,  O  Christ,  my  God,  and  slake  my  thirst 
out  of  thy  perennial  fountains.  One  drop  administered  by  thee  will 
become  in  me  a  river  of  water.  Graciously  stoop  to  my  relief,  O  thou 
Source  of  Speech,  Word  of  God,  and  let  my  voice  become  melodious 

'  K  we  are  to  believe  Socrates,  Ecd.  Hist.,  iii,  16,  the  writinpjs  which  had  been 
prepared  to  counteract  the  effects  of  Julian's  edict  were  little  esteemed  by  the 
Christians  themselves  after  the  death  of  this  emperor.  Nevertheless,  the  interest 
awakened  by  this  stimulus  continued. 

*Poem.  22. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN   POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY.  325 

as  that  of  the  bird  of  spring  ! "  Only  such  a  poetry  can  deserve 
the  patronage  and  genuine  approval  of  rational  and  right-minded 
judges.  "  Then,"  adds  Paulinus,  "  will  I  call  thee  a  true,  divine  poet, 
and  will  quaff  thy  poems  as  a  draught  of  sweet  water,  since  they  flow 
to  me  as  from  the  fountains  of  heavenly  nectar,  because  they  sing  of 
Christ  the  Lord  of  all.'" 

Thus  this  early  writer  developed  the  theory  of  genuine  Christian 
poetry  Avhich  has  widely  governed  the  Church  during  the  cen- 
turies.^ Consistently  with  this  theory,  he  carefully  avoids  all  ref- 
erence to  the  heathen  mythology  and  to  those  topics  in 

His  theincs. 
which  the  heathen  poets  were   most  fully  interested. 

While  in  form  he  imitates  the  classic  poems  of  heroic  and  iambic 
measure,  and  sometimes  even  rivals  these  in  easy  rhythm  and  flow 
of  verse,  he  adheres  closely  to  Christian  thought,  and  furnishes  ex- 
amples of  poetic  writing  which  could  take  the  place  of  the  heathen 
poetry  interdicted  bj'"  Julian,  and  after  his  death  was  measurably 
excluded  by  the  power  of  Christian  sentiment.  Since  Paulinus  had 
received  a  liberal  education  in  the  flourishing  schools  of  Bordeaux, 
and  was,  therefore,  familiar  with  the  classic  literature  of  the  period, 
he  was  on  his  conversion  of  great  benefit  to  the  Church  in  the  edu- 
cation and  guidance  of  the  young.  His  literary  and  poetic  influence 
upon  the  Church  of  his  period  was  marked  and  permanent.^ 

Of  even  greater  prominence  in  the  history  of  Christian  hym- 
nology  was  Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan,  born  about  A.  D.  335. 
During  a  life  of  sixty  years  he  deeply  influenced  the 
theology  and  church  life  of  his  own  time,  and  by  his 
intelligent  reform  of  the  ritual  service  made  an  epoch  in  Christian 
history.  Among  the  four  great  Latin  fathers  whose  works  gave  sub- 
stantial aid,  and  were  a  bulwark  of  defence  to  the  Christians,  Am- 
brose stands  preeminent.  Like  his  noble  contemporary,  Hilary,  he 
was  of  influential  heathen  parentage.  His  careful  training  under 
the  direction  of  pagan  masters  was  designed  to  fit  him  for 
honorable  public  station.     Under  Probus   he  was   ap- 

^  ,.   X     1  1-1  His  education. 

pointed  governor  and  judge  of  Italy,  and  in  the  year 
A.  D.  370  obtained  the  governorship  of  Milan,  together  with  the 
control  of  Bologna,  Turin,   and  Genoa.     He  began  his  career  as 
a  mere  catechumen  in  the  Church,  and  not  until  designated  by  the 

•Poemeto,  6,  10,  20.  22,  23,  etc.,  in  Migne's  Patrologia. 

^  Jacob :  Die  Kunst  im  Dienste  der  Kirche,  pp.  369,  370. 

''  Doubtless  the  estimates  placed  upon  the  writings  and  services  of  Paulinus  by- 
some  Catholic  writers  are  extravagant.  On  the  other  hand,  we  believe  that  some 
Protestants  are  chargeable  with  almost  equal  errors  from  the  low  value  at  which 
they  represent  hie  labors. 


326  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

popular  judgment  for  bishop  of  Milan  did  lie  receive  Christian 
baptism.  But  when  once  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the 
episcopal  office  all  his  native  gifts  and  his  acquired  powers  were  de- 
voted without  stint  to  the  advancement  of  the  orthodox  faith. 
When,  after  the  custom  of  the  Greek  and  North  African  churches, 
he  had  introduced  the  sei'mon  into  the  regular  services  of  each  Sab- 
bath, he  also  felt  the  need  of  reforming  the  music  and  the  hymns. 

Connected  with  his  eminent  services  in  church  music  were  his 
His  contribu-  attempts  to  improve  its  hj^mnology.  In  the  midst  of 
tions  to  hym-  bitter  strifes  of  factions  he  aimed  to  hold  the  Church 
^^  ^^^'  steady  to  its  pristine  faith.     As  we  have  before  seen,  the 

reform  and  perfection  of  the  service  were  intimately  connected  with 
the  Arian  controversy.  The  vigorous  leaders  of  this  heres}^  had  ob- 
served that  the  mass  of  the  people  was  more  surely  influenced  through 
attractive  Christian  ceremonies  than  b}'  formal  dogmatic  statements. 
Here,  as  in  the  East,  they  aimed  to  propagate  their  peculiar  doctrines 
through  the  impressive  means  of  music  joined  to  sacred  song. 
Numerous  hymns  of  Arian  origin  had  become  familiar  to  the  people 
of  the  West,  and  by  their  pleasing  and  insinuating  influence  were 
leading  multitudes  away  from  the  orthodox  faith.  Both  Athana- 
sius  and  the  Church  historian  Philostorgius  make  reference  to  this 
influence.  The  spiritual  songs  of  Arius  were  so  much  in  favour 
Influence  of  as  to  contribute  powerfully  to  the  dissemination  of  his 
Arian  hymns,  doctrines.  We  are  told  by  the  historians  Socrates  and 
Sozomen  that  the  public  services  of  the  Arians  in  Constantinople 
were  so  popular,  on  account  of  the  hymns  and  antiphonies,  that 
even  Chrysostom  felt  compelled  to  introduce  into  the  orthodox 
churches  a  like  provision  in  order  to  retain  his  congregations.  In 
A.  D.  386  Ambrose  had  completed  his  important  reforms,  and 
very  soon  these  were  introduced  into  many  churches  of  the  West. 

Some  diiference  of  opinion  has  existed  relative  to  the  exact  char- 
acter of  the  Ambrosian  service.  It  is,  however,  pretty  generally 
agreed  that  the  whole  body  of  assembled  believers  participated  in  it, 
and  that  his  chant  was  founded  on  the  ancient  Greek  music,  Avhile 
it  also  sought  a  more  intimate  union  of  the  rhythm  and  metre  of 
the  hj^mn  with  the  musical  melody.  It  might  be  expected  that 
Ambrose  himself  would  become  the  author  of  hymns  appropriate 
to  the  new  ritual;  still,  it  is  very  difficult  to  distinguish  those  of 
his  own  composition  from  many  Avhich  the  new  order  had  called 
into  existence,  and  which  also  went  under  the  general  name  of 
Ambrosian.  The  Benedictine  editors  of  his  works '  claim  that  the 
united  testimony  of  the  writers  from  the  fourth  to  the  ninth  cen- 
'Tom.  ii,  pp.  1219-1224. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY.  327 

tury  is  to  the  effect  that  only  twelve  of  the  so-called  Ambrosian 
hymns  can  be  regarded  as  genuine.'      Of  the  form  and   ., 

~  ^     ,  ,  .  ,  Number      and 

character  ot  these  hymns  it  can  be  said,  "  The}'-  rank  character  of 
well  with  the  best  heathen  poems  of  that  age.  When  ^^  hymns. 
they  are  compared  with  the  poetry  of  Ausonius  or  of  Claudianus 
they  are  to  be  preferred  both  for  their  perfection  of  rhythm  and 
earnestness  of  spirit."  *  They  are  of  the  form  of  iambic  dimetre, 
which  seemed  best  suited  to  this  service,  but  avoid  all  attempt  at 
rhyme.  They  glow  with  a  pure  devotion,  and  place  their  renowned 
author  very  high  among  hymnologists  of  the  ancient  Church.  Both 
Catholics  and  Protestants  have  appropriated  these  hymns  for  the 
enrichment  of  their  service.^ 

Very  prominent  as  a  poet,  and  in  the  discussion  of  the  principles 
which  should  regulate  poetic  writing,  was  the  Spaniard, 
Marcus  Aurelius  Clemens  Prudentius,  who  flourished  in  ^"  ^°  '"^" 
the  last  half  of  the  fourth  and  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century. 
Until  his  fiftieth  year  his  life  was  passed  in  public  service,  chiefly 
as  an  advocate.  He  then  resolved  to  withdraw  from  the  affairs  of 
state  and  devote  himself  exclusively  to  the  Church.  In  common 
with  so  many  others  of  the  teachers  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  cen- 
turies he  clearly  perceived  what  service  poetry  might  render  for 
the  education  and  edification  of  the  Christian  assemblies,  and  for 
the  defence  of  doctrine.  His  poems  were  of  both  a  didactic  and 
lyric  character.  Of  his  clearly  authenticated  writings  there  have 
been  preserved  more  than  ten  thousand  lines.  Of  these  hjs  works  and 
his  Cathemerinon,  a  collection  of  twelve  hymns  origi-  theircharacter. 
nally  designed  for  daily  use  in  the  worship  of  the  Church  which 
the  poet  frequented,  was  widely  accepted  by  the  Latin  fathers, 
and  incorporated  into  the  early  hymnology.  These  poems  are 
characterized  by  simplicity  of  diction,  sublimity  of  thought,^  and  a 

'Daniel:  Thesaur.  hymn.,  Bd.  i,  p.  12,  adds  largely  to  the  number  given  by  the 
Dominicans.  Mone :  Lateinische  Hymnen,  Bd.  i,  has  ascribed  to  him  three  others. 
So  also  Rambach :  Anthologie,  Bd.  i,  s.  60.  and  Wackernagel :  Das  deutsche  Kirchenlied, 
are  inclined  to  increase  the  number  of  genuine  Ambrosian  hymns.  Neale :  The 
Ecclesiastical  Latin  Poetry  of  the  Middle  Ages,  reduces  them  to  ten. 

2Bahr:   Op.  cit,  Bd.  iv. 

'  Among  the  most  valued  of  his  hymns  are  the  celebrated  doxology,  Te  Deum 
laudamus,  Veni,  Redemptor  gentium,  and  Deus  Creator  omnium.  They  have  found 
their  way  through  translations  into  many  modern  collections.  His  Veni,  Redemptor 
gentium  has  been  translated  by  Luther,  "Nun  komme,  der  Heiden  Heiland  ;  ''  by  John 
Franck,  "  Komm,  Heiden  Heiland,  Losegeld ;  "  by  J.  M.  Neale,  "  Come,  thou  Re- 
deemer of  the  earth ;  "  by  Ray  Palmer,  "  0  thou  Redeemer  of  our  race."  His  A  solis 
ortHs  cardine  has  been  well  translated,     v.  Schaff :    Christ  in  Song. 

*  Biihr:   Op.  cit.,  Bd.  iv,  s.  77. 


328  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

spirit  of  ardent  piety;  they  liave  been  cherished  by  the  universal 
Church  as  expressive  of  the  believer's  richest  experiences.  His 
Peristephanon  is  a  like  collection  of  fourteen  poems  in  celebration 
of  the  praises  of  the  martja-s  who  have  won  their  heavenly  crown. 
The  growing  honor  paid  to  the  witnesses  for  the  truth  here  finds 
expression.  The  spirit  animating  these  poems  is  born  of  a  high  and 
holy  faith,  but  they  cannot  take  rank  among  the  foremost  Christian 
writings  of  the  first  six  centuries.  In  his  Apotheosis,  consisting 
of  one  thousand  and  eighty-five  hexameter  verses,  he  attempts  to 
set  forth  and  defend  the  orthodox  doctrine  of  the  true  divinity 
and  humanity  of  Christ  as  against  the  Sabellians,  the  Jews,  the 
Manichfeans,  the  other  heretical  sects.  In  his  Psychomachia,  of 
about  one  thousand  verses,  the  conflict  of  virtue  with  vice  in 
the  human  soul  is  portrayed.  This  poem  contains  some  truly 
eloquent  passages  which  rise  almost  to  the  intensity  of  the 
dramatic. 

The  attempt  of  Symmachus  to  reinstate  heathen  worship,  by  re- 
building the  altar  of  Victory,  has  already  been  referred  to  {v.  p.  66). 
The  Christian  apologist  was  temporarily  successful.  But  the  spirit 
of  the  old  faith  was  not  thus  easily  subdued.  The  too  common  view 
that  heathenism  was  already  effete  is  evidently  erroneous,  A  crit- 
_,  .      ical  examination  of  the  teachings  of  the  leading  minds 

of  heathen  of  heathen  Rome  from  A,  D,  150  to  A.  D.  450  will  show 
ought,  ^j^^^  ^j^g   number  of  atheistic  and  purely  materialistic 

thinkers  was  quite  insignificant.  Even  Lucian  substantially  con- 
firms this  view,  though  his  interest  is  evidently  against  it.'  Thus 
while  the  triumph  of  Ambrose  seemed  at  the  time  complete,  and 
Theodosius  refused  to  reinstate  the  altar  of  Victory,  Symmachus 
renewed  this  attempt  under  the  reigns  of  Arcadius  and  Honorius. 
This  was  probaby  the  occasion  for  Prudentius  to  write  the  Libri 
duo  contra  Symmachum,  in  the  fii'st  book  of  which  he  most  zeal- 
ously defends  the  excellencies  of  the  Christian  faith  as  against 
the  absurdities  and  defects  of  heathen  philosophy,  and  showed  that 
the  evils  which  the  empire  was  suffering  were  the  direct  effect  of 
the  corruptions  and  moral  delinquencies  of  the  heathen  teachers.  In 
the  second  he  refutes  the  arguments  of  Symmachus,"  The  intelli- 
gent zeal  of  the  writer  appears  most  conspicuously  in  this  poem. 
While  at  times  indulging  in  extravagant  statements,  it  must  be 
ranked  among  his  most  vigorous  writings. 

The  works  of  Prudentius  mark  a  new  period  in  the  history  of 

'  Jup.  TragcBd.,  quoted  by  Friedlander :  Darstellungen  aus  d.  SiUengeschichte  Eoms, 
5te  Ausg.,  Bd,  iii,  s.  552. 
«Teufifel:   Op.  ciL,  s.  1029. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY.  329 

Christian  poetry.     His  influence  was  lasting,  and  the  Middle  Ages 

cherished  most  carefully  his  poems   and  imitated  his  treatment.' 

His  peculiar  themes  initiated  him  into  an  almost  unex-   His    influence 

plored  department  of  literature.     His  early  training  put  lasting. 

him  into  sympathy  with  classical  writers,  and  led  him  to  incorporate 

into  his  poems  classic  constructions.     Yet  the  spirit  of  the  new 

religion  and  the  sublimity  of  the  themes  introduce  into  these  poems 

a  novel  and,  at  times,  almost  grotesque  inharmoniousness.^    While 

his  talent  was  so  great,  it  was,  however,  insufficient  to  found  a  new 

school  of  poetry.* 

Another   eminent   writer   of    the    sixth    century,    whose    poems 

have  been  preserved  in  the  hymnology  of  the  Church, 

Fortunatus 
was  Venantius  Fortunatus.      Both  from  the  references 

found  in  the  works  of  Gregory  of  Tours  and  of  Paul  Diaconus, 
as  well  as  from  his  own  writings,  we  gain  a  fair  idea  of  the  char- 
acter and  works  of  this  renowned  Christian  poet.  The  date  of 
his  birth  is  unknown.  According  to  his  own  account  he  was 
educated  in  Ravenna,  the  seat  of  superior  schools  for  training 
the  young  in  the  principles  of  the  Roman  law.  He  afterward 
journeyed  into  Austrasia,  where  he  became  the  friend  and  adviser 
of  King  Sigibert.  He  wrote  the  Epithalamium  on  the  occasion 
of  the  marriage  of  Sigibert  with  Brunihild,  daughter  of  Athani- 
gild,  king  of  the  West  Goths.  Soon  after  he  was  appointed 
superior  of  a  cloister  of  nuns  at  Poitiers.  Here  he  took  up  his 
residence,  and  became  bishop  of  Poitiers  toward  the  close  of  his 
life.  He  died  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixth  century,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Basilica  of  St.  Hilarius.  He  was  of  noble  character, 
and  his  name  was  held   in   highest  veneration   by  the  medieval 

Church.      His  poems,   like  those  of   most  of  his  con-  „. 

^  '  ,  ,Hispoems, 

temporaries,  were  largely  narrative  and  panegyric,  their  character 
In  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  the  fonn  of  his  poetry,  ^"^  '°  uence. 
he  was  in  harmony  with  the  fashion  of  the  time.  Of  the  eleven 
books  of  his  poems,  the  largest,  as  de  vita  S.  Martini,  de  excidio 
Thuringim,  etc.,  are  descriptive  and  eulogistic.  John  of  Fritten- 
heim  speaks  of  seventy-seven  hymns  composed  by  Fortunatus,  but 
ecarcely  more  than  a  dozen  have  been  preserved  to  our  time.^  Some 
have  gone  into  the  hymnology  of  the  general  Church,  and  are  of 

'  Bahr :   0-p.  cit,  Bd.  iv,  s.  86. 

*  Bernhardy:    Gesch.  d.  Rom.  Lit,  s.  995. 

^  Schaff :  CJirist  in  Song,  has  pronounced  the  Jam  mcesta  quiesce  querela  his  master- 
piece. It  has  been  very  beautifully  translated  by  Mrs.  Charles — "Ah!  hush  now 
your  mournful  complaining:s,"  etc.,  and  by  manj'  others. 

*  Teuffel:    Op.  cit.,  ss.  1177-1181.     Bahr:   Op.  cit,  Bd.  iv,  s.  155. 


330  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

great  excellence  and  breathe  the  spirit  of  a  pure  devotion.  The 
beautiful  hymn  on  the  Nativity,  Agnoscat  omne  sceculum,  and 
the  two  in  celebration  of  the  passion  of  the  Lord,  Pange  lingua 
gloriosi,  and  Vexilla  regis  prodeimt,  are  still  greatly  prized.  Their 
spirit  of  simple  piety  is  in  strong  contrast  with  most  of  his  de- 
scriptive poems  and  panegyrics.'  In  some  of  his  works  there  is  a 
close  imitation  of  the  style  and  metre  of  the  earlier  classic  poets, 
while  occasionally  the  influence  of  Claudianus  is  clearly  discernible. 
Close  attention  is  not  always  given  to  the  measure  and  rhythm, 
while  all  traces  of  what  we  understand  by  rhyme  are  wanting.  The 
Church  has  placed  very  high  value  on  the  few  gems  contributed  by 
this  author  to  her  hymnology.  As  a  theologian,  scholar,  and  pub- 
licist he  held  high  rank  among  the  men  of  his  century;  while  as 
poet  he  is  scarcely  excelled  by  either  heathen  or  Christian  of  his 
time. 

The  genuineness  of  most  of  the  hymns  once  attributed  to  Gregory 
the  Great  is  now  questioned.  The  Veni,  Creator  Spiritus,  formerly 
reckoned  among  his  noblest  productions,  is  now  believed  to  be  the 
work  of  another;  so,  also,  the  All  Saints'  hymn,  Christe,  nostra  nunc 
et  semper,  the  Advent  hymn,  Christe,  redeniptor  omnium,  and  the 
Baptismal  hymn.  Or  a  primum,  tu  pro  nobis.  A  few  which  are 
believed  to  be  genuine  are  found  in  the  hymnology  of  the  modern 
Church.  His  morning  hymn,  Eccejani  tenuatur  umbra,  with  No.  15 
of  the  appended  doxologies,  has  been  translated  by  Caswell: 

"  Lo,  fainter  now  lie  spread  the  shades  of  night, 
And  upward  shoot  the  trembhug  gleams  of  morn." 

Other  writers,  as  Augustine  and  Caelius  Sedulius,  wrote  a  number 
of  hymns  of  considerable  excellence;  but  the  genuineness  of  much 
which  was  formerly  attributed  to  them  has  been  seriously  ques- 
tioned, and  their  influence  upon  the  hymnology  of  the  "West  has 
been  comparatively  unimportant. 

We  give  six  specimens  of  doxologies  used  in  the  Latin  Church 

during  the  first  six  centuries.     They  are  taken  from  Wackernagel's 

work.  Das  deutsche  Kirchenlied,  and  are  numbered  as  they  there 

stand: 

1. 

Deo  patri  sit  gloria, 
Eius  que  soli  filio 
Cum  spirito  paraclito 
Et  nunc  et  iu  perpetuum. 

'  Some  of  his  hymns  have  been  frequently  translated,  notably  by  Neale,  Caswell, 
and  Mrs.  Charles,  and  have  been  very  widely  used  by  the  modern  churches. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY.  331 

4. 

Gloria  et  honor  deo 

usque  quo  altissimo, 
Una  patri  filioque, 

iuclito  paraclito, 
Cui  laus  est  et  potestas 

psr  eterna  s^cula. 

6. 

Gloria  patri  ingenito 

eius  que  uuigenico 
Una  cum  sancto  spiritu 

in  sempiterna  sascula. 

11. 

Laus,  honor,  virtus,  gloria, 

deo  patri  cum  filio, 
Sancto  simul  paraclito 

in  sempiterna  ssecula. 

15. 

Pra;stet  hoc  nobis  deitas  beata 

patris  ac  nati,  pariter  sancti 
Spiritus,  cuius  reboat  in  omni 

gloria  mundo. 

18. 
Sit  laus,  perennis  gloria 

deo  patri  cum  filio, 
Sancto  simul  paraclito 

in  sempiterna  saecula. 


332  AKCH^OLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART, 


CHAPTER  IX. 

EARLY    CHRISTIAN    MUSIC. 

The  strict  religious  education  received  by  every  Jew  put  him  in 
sympathy  with  the  history,  the  trials,  and  the  hopes  of 

Educational  m  .   .  . 

value  of  Jewish  his  people.  The  repetition  of  the  synagogue  service 
ceremonies.  three  times  a  day,  the  duty  of  private  prayer,  the  cere- 
monial at  every  meal,  the  imposing  ritual  on  the  occasion  of  new 
moons,  new  years,  feasts  and  fasts,  and  the  great  national  festivals 
celebrated  with  unequaled  pomp  and  solemnity,  must  have  kept 
alive  in  every  Jewish  heart  a  warm  affection  for  his  nation,  and 
thoroughly  indoctrinated  him  in  the  truths  which  were  regarded  as 
essential  to  life  and  salvation.'  It  is  not,  therefore,  surprising  that 
the  converts  from  Judaism  to  Christianity  were  sometimes  slow  to 
distinguish  between  the  symbol  and  the  reality,  and  clung  with 
fondness  to  what  had  become  so  venerable  from  age,  and  had  per- 
vaded their  history  as  the  chosen  people  of  God.  Every  part  of  the 
temple  and  synagogue  service  had  been  prescribed  with  the  utmost 
minuteness,  and  maintained  with  scrupulous  care.  It  is  therefore 
Hebrew  music  somewhat  disappointing  that  no  records  of  the  Hebrew 
lost.  music  have  been  preserved  to  our  time.     The  contrary 

opinion  of  De  Sola  -  relative  to  the  great  antiquity  of  some  of  the 
Hebrew  melodies,  as,  for  example,  "  The  Melody  of  the  Blessing  of 
the  Priests"  (No.  44  of  his  collection),  "The  Song  of  Moses" 
(No.  12  of  his  collection),  etc.,  can  scarcely  be  accepted  by  the  best 
historic  criticism.  It  is  likewise  true  that  no  tune  from  the  first 
two  centuries  of  the  Christian  Church  has  come  down  to  our  time. 
In  the  absence  of  actual  examples  by  which  a  comparison  may  be 

'  V.  Edersheim:  TJie  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,  bk.  ii,  chap.  ix.  Geikie: 
Life  and  Words  of  Christ,  vol.  i,  chaps,  xiii,  xiv.  Shiirer:  The  Jewish  Church  in  the 
Time  of  Christ,  Clark's  Foreign  Theological  Library,  vol.  ii,  §§  27,  28. 

'^  The  Ancient  Melodies  of  the  Litwgy  of  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  Jews,  by  E. 
Aguilar  and  D.  A.  de  Sola,  p.  15,  et  al.  The  attempts  of  Delitzsch:  Physiologic  u. 
Musik  in  ihren  Bedeuhmg  filr  die  Grammatik,  besonders  die  hebrdisehe.  Leipzig,  1868; 
Saalschiitz :  Geschichte  u.  Wiirdigung  der  Musik  bie  den  Hebrliern,  Berlin,  1 829,  and  many 
others,  have  failed  to  convince  the  unprejudiced  that  any  remnant  of  the  old  temple 
music  has  been  preserved.  The  traditions  in  the  East  and  West  do  not  at  all  agree 
and  the  methods  of  service  of  the  Jews  in  Germany,  in  England,  and  in  Spain  are 
widely  different. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   MUSIC.  333 

instituted,  we  must  betake  ourselves  to  otlier  sources  of  information 
relative  to  the  early  Christian  music. 

The  first  converts  to  Christianity  were  Jews.  They  were  there- 
fore entirely  familiar  with  the  Jewish  forms  of  worship.    „.  ^„^  . ,. 

.  j>  1      /-ii    •     •  •  •       ^^^^i  Christians 

The  few  notices  of  early  Christian  assemblies  found  in   familiar    with 

the  New  Testament  indicate  that  the  infant  Church  "^^^'^'^  ^'^™^- 
largely  observed  the  sei'vices  of  the  synagogue,  and  that  little 
peculiar  or  original  was  at  first  introduced.  Prayer,  the  reading 
of  the  Scriptures,  the  chanted  psalm,  and  the  exposition  and  ex- 
hortation by  some  chosen  rabbi  or  educated  member  of  the  congre- 
gation constituted  the  chief  features  of  the  Jewish  synagogue  service. 
But  what  was  the  character  of  the  music  then  used  ?  The  char- 
acteristic chanting  or  singing  called  cantillation,  so  cantmation  af- 
widely  practiced  by  oriental  peoples,  as  well  as  the  fix-  ^""''^^  '^°,^?f" 

J   i-  "^  .  .  gestionastothe 

edness  of  the  oriental  type  both  of  music  and  instru-  ancient  music. 
ments,  might  at  first  sight  seem  to  furnish  a  suggestion  of  the 
probable  character  of  the  Hebrew  music  in  the  time  of  Christ.  But 
to  suppose  that  the  Jewish  music  of  that  period  was  the  music 
practiced  in  the  Solomonic  temple  service,  or  even  in  that  of  Zerub- 
babel,  would  be  misleading.  By  the  wide  conquests  of  Alexander 
Greek  influence  had  been  disseminated  throughout  the  subject  na- 
tions.    For  three  hundred  years  prior  to  the  Advent  ^     , 

J  r  Greek      influ- 

Greek  thought  had  been  powerful  in  modifying  the  Jew-  ence  a  power- 
ish  philosophy  and  literature.  Not  only  in  Alexandria  '"^  factor. 
and  otlier  chief  Greek  cities  where  the  Jews  had  congregated,  but  in 
Jerusalem,  and  especially  in  Samaria  and  Syria,  this  Greek  influence 
was  felt.  The  Septuagint  translation  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  is 
a  conspicuous  illustration  of  the  mutual  interpenetration  of  Greek 
and  Hebrew  thought.'  Many  of  the  Hellenistic  Jews  acquired  such 
aptitude  and  ease  in  the  Greek  poetic  art  that  they  competed  with 
Greek  masters,  and  produced  remarkable  poems  whose  subjects  were 
derived  from  their  own  history  and  religion.  The  truths  of  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures  were  thus  cast  in  a  Greek  mould.  Frequently 
their  teachers  assumed  the  costume  of  the  ancient  Greek  poets  and 
philosophers.  This  syncretism  of  thought  continued  into  the  ear- 
lier years  of  Chi'istianity,  and  must  have  seriously  affected  the  po- 
etic and  musical  art  of  the  Jews.'' 

'  For  the  extent  of  the  Dispersion  and  its  influence  on  Jewish  thought,  rehgious 
observances  and  manners,  among  others  v.  Shiirer:  Op.  cit,  §  31:  Fricdlander:  Die 
SittengeschicMe  Eoms,  1881,  ss.  570-584;  Westcott:  article  ''Dispersion,"  in  Smith's 
Diet,  of  the  Bible. 

^  V.  Ewald:  The  History  of  Israel,  translated  by  J.  Estlin  Carpenter,  London,  1874, 
vol.  V,  pp.  260-262,  and  vol.  iii,  p.  283.     "The  music  of  the  temple  services  was 


334  ARCHAEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

The  old  temple  service,  in  which  the  prescribed  forms  were  ob- 
The  old  temple  served  with  scrupulous  inflexibilit}',  served,  indeed,  as  a 
servKc  a  par-   p^j.^^^l  breakwater  to  this  insettino-  tide  of  Greek  inno- 

tial    conserva-    t^  '^ 

tor.  vation,     "  The  old  Hebrew  music  must  have  been  re- 

sumed in  the  new  temple  of  Zerubbabel,  and  pursued  with  great 
zeal.  This  is  plain  from  the  superscriptions  of  many  of  the  Psalms, 
which  were  then  collected  afresh,  and  from  the  historic  representa- 
tions of  the  Chronicles.  But  the  Greek  translators  of  the  Psalter 
evince  only  an  imperfect  and  obscure  knowledge  of  the  art  terms  of 
the  ancient  music,  which  clearly  proves  that  the  whole  of  this  an- 
cient art  suffered  severely  through  the  entrance  of  Greek  music,  and 
by  degrees  entirely  disappeared."  ' 

The  purity  of  the  temple  service,  including  music,  thus  lost  under 
the  Greek  conquerors,  was  not  recovered  under  the  Roman.  The 
Asmonean  princes  sedulously  cultivated  the  friendship  of  their  new 
masters.  Only  by  Roman  protection  and  sufferance,  indeed,  was 
this  house  perpetuated.  Moreover,  the  grand  old  festivals,  which 
in  the  time  of  religious  fervor  had  been  celebrated  with  such  pomp, 
had  been  partially  disjDlaced  by  others  of  more  recent  origin.  The 
Influence  of  retirement  from  public  life  of  the  most  devout  sect,  the 
Jewish  sects.  Essenes,  the  proud  holding  aloof  from  state  affairs 
by  the  Sadducees  during  the  period  immediately  prior  to  the 
advent,  and  the  obscuration  of  the  law  by  the  teaching  of  the 
Pharisees,  tended  to  the  neglect  of  the  temple  worship,  and 
strengthened  the  desire  for  a  Graeco-Roman  style  of  music.  The 
magnificent  temple  of  Herod,  though  reai'ed  in  accordance  with  the 
requirements  of  the  law,  and  by  the  encouragement  of  the  priests 
while  wearing  their  sacred  vestments,  failed  to  restore  the  purity 
of  the  service.  The  temple  itself  had  originated  in  selfish  ambi- 
tion; its  architecture  was  essentially  Greek;  its  ritual  had  become 
contaminated. 

The  first  converts  to  Christianity  probably  adopted  the  modified 
music  then  in  use  in  the  temple  and  synagogues.  The  music  used 
in  the  celebration  of  the  heathen  rites  could  not  be  tolerated  by 

doubtless  conducted  on  a  splendid  scale,  after  Solomon's  regulations,  in  all  the  sub- 
sequent centuries;  and  we  know  for  certain  that  Solomon  set  a  great  value  on  mu- 
sical instruments  of  costly  workmanship  (1  Kings  x,  12).  .  .  .  All  knowledge  of  it 
was,  however,  gradually  lost  after  the  Greek  period,  and  cannot  now  be  recovered; 
for  even  the  Chronicles,  from  which  we  derive  most  light  for  understanding  it,  con- 
tains no  more  than  faint  reminiscences  of  the  ancient  music."  Contra,  Martini,  G.  B. : 
History  of  Music,  vol.  i,  p.  350.  Saalschiitz:  Geschichte  u.  Wiirdigung  der  MiLsik  bei 
den  Hebrciern,  §  61. 

'  Ewald:   Op.  cit.,  vol.  v,  p.  267. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  MUSIC.  335 

converts   who   had   been    saved    from   the    polluting   practices   of 
heathenism.' 

Paul  probably  refers  to  the  then  extant  temple  and  synagogue 
music  when  he  exhorts  the  churches  w^hich  he  had  The  first 
planted  "to  be  filled  with  the  Spirit ;  speaking  to  your-  adoVed'^wh  t 
selves  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  singing  was  in  use. 
and  making  melody  in  your  heart  unto  the  Lord"  (Eph.  v,  18,  19); 
"  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly  in  all  wisdom,  teaching 
and  admonishing  one  another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual 
songs,  singing  with  grace  in  your  hearts  to  the  Lord"  (Col.  iii,  16). 

This  custom  of  the  early  Christians  seems  to  be  confirmed  by 
heathen  testimony,  notably  by  the  younger  Pliny  in  his  conflrn^e^  ^,y 
letters  to  the  Emperor  Trajan,  in  which  he  states  that  heathen  testi- 
they  were  accustomed  "  to  sing  responsively  a  hymn  to  '"°"^'- 
Christ  as  God."  ^  The  meaning  of  this  passage  has  been  variously 
understood;  but  according  to  the  comments  of  the  Christian  writers 
of  the  first  four  centuries  its  evident  intent  is  to  speak  of  responsive 
chants  or  songs  which  the  Christians  were  accustomed  to  use  in 
their  early  meetings.^  The  positive  testimony  of  Justin  christian  testi- 
Mai-tyr  *  as  to  the  custom  of  the  Eastern  church,  of  Ter-  ^^^y- 
tullian  regarding  the  African  church,  of  Origen  as  to  the  church  of 
Alexandria,  of  Eusebius,  who  quotes  from  earlier  authorities  to  prove 
the  antiquity  and  continuity  of  this  custom,  leaves  little  doubt  re- 
specting the  use  of  music  in  the  services  of  the  Church  from  the 
apostolic  period.  An  expression  used  by  Tertullian  in  describing 
the  worship  will  aid  us  to  understand  the  growth  or  develop- 
ment of  Christian  music.  When  he  says  that  each  one  of  the 
assembly  was  invited  to  sing  unto  God,  either  from  the  Scriptures  or 
something  indited  by  himself — "  de  proprio  ingenio  " — we  may  well 

suppose  that  thus  early  was  practiced  a  sacred  impro- 

.^.  ,  .   1    1        T  ,,.      1  •  ,.  1  •   1     Improvisation, 

visation  which  by  degrees  crystallized  into  forms  which 

by  frequent  use  and  repetition  became  the  common  property  of  the 
Church.    The  original  style  of  singing  was  evidently  the  chant.     The 
antiphony,  in  its  earliest  form,  is  no  more  than  a  respon- 
sive chant  conducted  by  the  priests  and  the  congregation. 
Yet  the  chant  bears  the  same  relation  to  music,  properly  so  called, 

'  Forkel:  GescMchte  der  Musik,  Bd.  ii.  ss.  91.  92.  We  have  only  to  read  the 
odes  of  Horace  which  describe  the  choral  processions  to  be  convinced  that  tlie  mu- 
sic used  in  such  associations  must  have  been  excluded  from  the  services  of  the  Christ- 
ian assemblies. 

"^  Epistolce,  Lib.  10,  97.     "  Carmen  Christo  quasi  Deo  diem  secum  invicem." 

3  Tertullian:  Apologeticiis,  c.  2.  "  Coetus  antelucanas  ad  canend\im  Christo  ut 
Deo,"  etc. 

*  Apologia,  c.  13.     "  Rationalibus  cum  porapis  et  hymnis  celebrare?" 


336  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTLVN  ART. 

as  does  speech  to  a  developed  language.  Speech  is  spontaneous, 
while  a  grammatically  constructed  language  is  the  product  and 
property  of  peoples  more  or  less  advanced  in  culture  and  enliglit- 
enment.  So  man  may  sing  by  virtue  of  his  nature;  yet  it  is  no 
more  difficult  to  develop  a  literary  language  from  primitive  speech 
than  to  construct  a  methodical  and  scientific  music  from  the 
Music  is  not  rudimentary  chant.'  Nor  are  we  to  suppose  that  music 
imitation  of  comes  from  imitation  of  sounds  in  nature.  There  is  no 
music  in  nature,  neither  melody  nor  harmony.  The 
many  expressions  regarding  "the  harmonies  of  nature,"  "the  music 
of  the  spheres,"  etc.,  are  to  be  regarded  as  purely  metaphorical. 

From  the  simplest  musical  utterance  in  the  chant  or  improvisation 
the  musician,  with  almost  infinite  pains,  must  work  out  the  complex 
results,  also  the  orderly  and  harmonious  combinations  called  music, 
which  becomes  the  most  effective  means  for  the  expression  of  the 
deeper  emotions  of  the  soul.^  At  what  precise  time  the  first  attempt 
The  beginning  ~of  the  Church  to  develop  a  music  peculiarly  its  own 
musicof uncer°  ^^^  made  we  have,  unfortunately,  no  means  of  deter- 
tain  date.  mining.     In  this,  as  in  many  other  historical  inquiries, 

we  are  left  to  conjecture  and  tradition,  or  are  compelled  to  reach 
conclusions  from  analogical  reasoning.  From  the  circumstances  of 
poverty,  persecution,  and  obscurity  with  which  the  early  Church 
was  surrounded,  it  might  be  expected  that  little  or  no  effort  would 
at  first  be  made  to  develop  the  simple  chant  into  a  more  methodi- 
cal and  scientific  form.  The  Christian  assemblies  were  generally 
only  tolerated,  sometimes  they  were  under  the  severest  ban.  These 
conditions  of  hardship  and  proscription  were  most  unfavourable 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  fine  arts.  Moreover,  the  natural  disin- 
clination to  use  either  Jewish  or  heathen  foi'ms  in  their  own 
services,  through  fear  of  some  misleading  influence  upon  the  wor- 
shipers, probably  induced  in  the  overseers  of  the  Church  of  the  first 
two  centuries  a  measure  of  indifference  to  whatever  of  musical 
science  might  then  have  been  extant.  Doubtless,  by  frequent  repe- 
tition of  chants  and  antiphonies  a  considerable  body  of  simple  melody 
had  come  to  be  the  common  property  of  the  Church.  But  it  was  not 
until  a  period  of  quiet  and  toleration,  when  the  erection  of  buildings 
for  the  worship  of  God  called  for  a  more  methodical  arrangement 

'  Fetis:  Histoiregeneraledela  Musique^Vms,  1869,  p.  2.  See  also  J.  Grimm  :  Ueher 
der  Ursprung  der  Sprache,  ss.  19,  55,  et  al.  Renan :  De  V  Origine  du  langage,  Paris,  1858, 
chap.  V.  Max  Miiller:  Science  of  Language,  London,  1862,  especially  Lect.  ix.  Con- 
tra, Clement,  Felix:  Histoire  de  la  miisiqiie  depuis  les  temps  anciens  jusqu' a  nos  jours, 
Paris,  1885,  pp.  3,  4,  5,  etc. 

^  Haweis:  Alusic  and  Morals,  London,  1877,  pp.  7,  8,  et  al. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  MUSIC.  337 

of  the   public   worship,    that   music    could    have    been    carefully 
cultivated. 

The  first  well-authenticated  account  of  the  formal  arrangement  of 
church  music  is  given  b}'^  the  historian  Theodoret,  Fjrst  recorded 
where  he  describes  the  eiforts  of  Flavianus  and  Diodo-  attempts. 
rus,  who  divided  the  choristers  of  the  church  of  Antioch  into  two 
parts,  and  instructed  them  to  sing  responsively  the  psalms  of  David. ^ 
It  is  probable  that  this  did  not  originate  a  new  era  of  musical  in- 
vention so  much  as  methodize  what  was  already  known.  But  the 
occasion  of  this  innovation,  as  given  by  the  surviving  authorities, 
is  most  suggestive,  and  renders  it  probable  that  from  this  time  the 
cultivation  of  music  received  greatly  increased  attention,  ^.tian  influ- 
The  governor  of  the  church  of  Antioch,  Leontius,  was  an  ence. 
avowed  Arian,  while  the  monks,  Flavianus  and  Diodorus,  were  zeal- 
ous and  saintly  defenders  of  the  orthodox  faith.  To  draw  away  the 
people  from  the  heretical  preaching  of  their  bishop  these  earnest 
men  instituted  the  antiphonal  service.  It  proved  so  attractive  that 
the  bishop  was  in  turn  compelled  to  introduce  the  same  practice  into 
his  own  church.  Thus  from  the  powerful  capital  of  the  East  the 
practice  extended  to  the  provincial  societies,  and  soon  prevailed 
in  many  leading  churches  of  the  West.^ 

The  growing  attention  to  the  study  of  church  music  is  shown 
from  the  fact  that  it  soon  after  became  a  subject  of  con-  conciiiary  ac- 
ciliary  action.  The  council  of  Laodicea  (360-370),  wo°- 
in  order  to  the  promotion  of  good  order  and  the  edification  of  be- 
lievers, decreed  that  none  but  the  canons,  or  singing  men  who  ascend 
the  ambo  (or  singing  desk),  should  be  permitted  to  sing  in  the  church. 
Much  diversity  of  opinion  relative  to  the  intent  of  this  canon  has 
been  entertained  by  commentators.  Baronius  seems  to  regard  it  as 
a  positive  prohibition  of  the  laity  to  engage  in  the  public  singing, 
thus  confining  this  part  of  the  service  to  an  ofiicial  class.  Bingham^ 
is  inclined  to  the  same  view  from  the  fact  that  from  the   „  .  . 

Opinion    rela- 

time  of  this  council  the  singers  were  regarded  as  oflicers  tive  to  this  ac- 
of  the  Church,  being  called  KavovtKol  'il}aXTai,  canonical  *'°°' 
singers.     He,  however,  believes  that  this  was  only  of  temporary 
authority.      Neander,*  on    the    contrary,   regards  this  as    nothing 
more  than  a  prohibition  of  the  laity  to  attempt  the  ofiice  of   the 

'  nist.  EccL,  1.  ii,  c.  xix.  "  Hi  prirai,  psallentium  choris  in  partes  divisis,  hymnos 
Davidicos  alternis  canere  docuerunt." 

-Theodoret  says:  "  Ubique  deinceps  obtinuit,  et  ad  ultimos  terras  fines  pervaait" 
{in  loc.  cit). 

^  Antiquities  of  the  Church,  b.  ill,  c.  vii. 

■*  History  of  the  Church,  b.  ii,  p.  674,  n.  4,  Torrey's  trans. 


338  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

regularly  appointed  singei's  in  conducting  the  church  music.  He 
believes  that  such  prohibition  of  the  laity  to  engage  in  the  singing 
would  have  been  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  instruction  of  the  most 
noted  Church  fathers,  as  Basil,  Chrysostom,  etc.,  and  the  almost 
universal  practice  of  the  Eastern  Churches.  The  opinion  of  Nean- 
der  is  entitled  to  great  respect,  since  it  seems  to  find  confirmation 
in  the  teaching  and  practice  of  these  saintly  men.  It  is  certain  that 
Basil,  during  his  education  at  Antioch,  came  to  enter- 
tain an  ardent  love  for  the  forms  of  worship  there  preva- 
lent, so  that  when  he  was  installed  bishop  of  Cresarea,  in  Cappado- 
cia,  he  introduced  the  Antiochian  music  into  his  own  diocese,  and 
greatly  encouraged  it  both  by  practice  and  public  teaching.  From 
the  account  preserved  in  his  own  writings  we  may  suppose  that  the 
singing  in  the  assemblies  of  Ctesarea  in  Basil's  day  somewhat  re- 
sembled the  informal  praise  service,  or  service  of  song, 
The   character    ,  ...  .  . 

of  the  sinking  in  modern  social  religious  gatherings,  barring  the  har- 

semce.  mony,  probably  not  yet  known.     Nevertheless,  we  are 

not  too  hastily  to  conclude  that  the  use  of  simple  melody  by  an 
entire  congregation  was  necessarily  less  effective  to  awaken  re- 
ligious emotions  than  the  more  involved  harmonies  of  later  times, 
since  it  has  often  been  remarked  that  by  the  uncultivated  ear 
the  simple  succession  of  sounds  may  be  better  appreciated  than 
the  more  involved,  which  may  be  pitched  above  the  jDopular 
comprehension.* 

When  he  became  bishop  of  Constantinople,  Chrysostom  likewise 
cultivated  the  music  to  which  he  had  earlier  become  accustomed 

at  Antioch.  In  the  severe  contest  with  the  Arians,  he, 
Chrysostom.        t,       -r.     -i  t       i  t      i  •  i     i  i     i 

like  Basil  and  others,  used  the  new  music  to  hold  the 

people  loyal  to  the  orthodox  faith.  But  in  those  times  of  passion- 
ate and  brutal  encounters  the  services  of  the  Church  were  fre- 
quently interrupted  by  exhibitions  of  anger  and  party  strife 
entirely  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  Christian  worship.  Only 
with  greatest  difficulty  could  the  people  be  restrained  even  by  the 
entreaties  and  authority  of  this  most  eminent  and  spiritually  minded 
father. 

Thus  it  seems  fairly  probable  that  the  more  serious  and  success- 
ful attempts  to  improve  the  music  of  the  public  services 

Conclusion.  ..  t    •        t       7~,      •  ^         i  tI  loi- 

originated  in  the  byrian  churches,  and  that  the  byrian 
modes  were  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  adopted  by  the  East  and 
West. 

To  St.  Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan,  has  usually  been  attributed  the 
further  reform  and  improvement  of  the  music  which  was  afterward 
'  V.  Wallis:  Philosophical  Transactions  (Abridgment),  vol.  i,  p.  618 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  MUSIC.  339 

extensively  used  in  the  Latin  churches.  This  attempted  modi- 
fication dates  from  the  last  quarter  of  the  fourth  century.  The 
Cantus  Amhrosianus  has  come  to  be  applied  to  a  style  of  music 
which  Ambrose  is  said  to  have  arranged  for  his  own  Ambrosian 
cathedral,  and  which,  in  modified  form,  is  believed  by  chant. 
some  to  have  continued  in  the  Western  churches  to  the  present 
time.  The  subject  is  beset  with  difliculties,  and  opinions  are  at 
variance  Avith  respect  to  the  originality,  nature,  and  extent  of  the 
reform  introduced  by  Ambrose. 

As  to  its  originality,  it  must  be  recollected  that  the  Church  had 
now  emerged  from  the  catacombs,  and  had  received  the  protection 
and  patronage  of  the  imperial  government.  Instead  of  obscure 
upper  rooms,  private  houses,  subterranean  retreats,  or  humble 
churches,  the  Christians  now  had  well-built  and  splendid  ^jjaneed  cir- 
edifices,  to  whose  erection  even  emperors  felt  honored  cumstances  of 
in  making  contribution.  The  circumstances  necessi-  ^"^^  Church, 
tated  a  change  in  the  church  appointments.  The  ceremonial  now 
assumed  a  splendor  and  an  impressiveness  before  unknown.  This 
is  evident  from  the  notices  of  contemporary  writers  both  Christian 
and  pagan.  Christianity  was  now  the  state  religion.  Its  votaries 
occupied  the  highest  positions  of  trust  in  the  government.  Men 
thoroughly  versed  in  the  heathen  philosophy  were  now  high  oftlce- 
bearers  in  the  Church.  Prejudice  against  the  literature  and  the  art 
of  heathendom  had  been  greatly  allayed. 

The  introduction  of  art  forms  into  the  churches  had  long  ceased 
to  be  regarded  as  sinful  or  misleading.  All  that  was  truly  useful  and 
educating  was  now  pressed  into  the  service  of  Christ,  and  thus  be- 
came sanctified.  Every  analogy  of  the  other  arts  which  we  have 
traced  is  convincing  that  the  Christians  of  the  fourth  Appropriation 
century  freely  appropriated  whatever  might  contribute  of  ^^rt. 
to  the  effectiveness  of  public  worship.  If  they  had  not  been 
offended  by  the  statue  of  Hermes,  the  ram-bearer,  if  they  had 
pictured  upon  the  walls  of  the  catacombs  Orpheus  as  a  type  or 
heathen  prophecy  of  the  subduing  power  of  Christ,  if  they  had 
adopted  the  Greek  style  in  the  sculpture  of  their  sarcophagi,  if 
from  their  general  convenience  of  form  the  heathen  basilicas  fur- 
nished suggestions  for  church  architecture,  it  cannot  be  reasonably 
supposed  that  music  alone,  of  all  the  fine  arts,  was  an  exception  to 
this  general  Christian  appropriation  and  use.  With  respect  to 
music  and  poetry,  as  to  philosophy  and  the  arts  of  form,  it  was  but 
natural  that  the  attention  of  the  Christian  fathers  should  be  turned 
toward  the  writings  of  the  Greeks  for  suggestions  in  their  attempted 
development  of  the  congregational  chant,  which  had  grown  up,  from 


340  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

long-continued  repetition,  into  more  regular,  scientific,  and  imposing 
forms.' 

By  his  careful  training  prior  to  conversion  Ambrose  was  pre- 
pared to  successfully  examine  whatever  of  useful  helps  might  be 
contained  in  the  Greek  writers  on  music,  and  to  develop  a  system 
more  in  harmony  with  the  conditions  and  needs  of  the  Church. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  term  "  music  "  had  among  the 
Music  of  broad-  early  Greeks  a  much  broader  significance  than  in  mod- 
a'incfne'^^'tTe  ®^*^  times.  It  embraced  poetry,  the  dance,  and  the 
Greeks.  drama,  as  well  as  the  melody  of  sounds.     It  was  inti- 

mately connected  with  moral,  intellectual,  and  even  physical  train- 
ing; it  was  not,  therefore,  chiefiy  studied  as  a  fine  art.  It  ranked 
rather  among  the  disciplines  necessary  to  the  best  and  completes! 
education,  and  was  regarded  more  as  a  means  to  an  end  than  as  an 
independent  art.  Based  upon  certain  haraionic  and  rhythmical  pro- 
portions, it  was  believed  to  contribute  to  the  best  mental  training  and 
the  highest  moral  development.  There  is  an  essential  agreement 
among  the  best  historians  that  during  the  most  flourishing  period 
of  Grecian  art  instrumental  music  had  no  separate  existence.  Mu- 
sic, recitative,  and  poetry  were  inseparably  united.  Musical  rhythm 
was  governed  by  the  poetical  cadence.  Musicians  were  the  poets; 
and  poets  invented  melodies  to  which  they  chanted  their  verse  at 
the  national  games.  The  early  music  of  the  Greeks  had  no  higher 
aim  than  to  supply  the  language  of  the  poet  with  melody  and  mus- 
ical accents.  They  never  strove  to  invest  music  with  a  dignity  that 
should  make  it  independent  of  poetry.^  It  was  only  in  the  later  his- 
tory that  music  and  poetry  attained  to  a  separate  existence.  Yet 
Plato  complains  of  this  divorce,  and  argues  that  it  is  a  departure 
from  the  original  lofty  ethical  aim  of  music,  and  it  is  certain  that 
as  an  independent  art  Greek  music  thus  suffered  a  real  decadence. 
Music  and  po-  Its  close  association  with  epic  and  lyric  poetry  in  the 
etry  associated,  religious  life  and  ceremonial  had  dignified  and  inspired 
it.  The  decay  of  religion  brought,  therefore,  like  decay  to  poetry 
and  music.  The  departure  of  the  spirit  left  the  body  lifeless,  as  in- 
stitutions do  not  long  survive  the  wants  and  the  spirit  that  call  them 
into  being.  With  the  prevalent  scepticism  came  the  neglect  of  all 
which  religion  and  devotion  had  devised  to  aid  in  their  cultivation 
and  expression.^ 

'  Kiesewetter :  GescJiichte  der  europceisch-abendldndischen  oder  unser  heutigen  Musik, 
Leipzig,  1846,  p.  2.     Ambros:    Geschichte  der  Miisik,  vol.  ii,  pp.  9,  10. 

'^  Naumann:  History  of  Mti-sic,  translated  from  the  German  by  F.  Praeger,  London, 
1885,  p.  137. 

^  Schliiter:  Allgemeine  Geschichte  der  Musik,  etc.,  Leipzig,  1863,  p.  4. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  MUSIC.  341 

While  Christianity  alone  has  brought  music  to  its  highest  perfec- 
tion as  a  fine  art,  expressive  of  the  deepest  spiritual 
emotion,  the  Greeks,  nevertheless,  developed  a  most  nished  a  music- 
complicated  and  ingenious  system  of  musical  nota-  ^^^ot^'ion. 
tion,  whose  influence  was  felt  far  into  the  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era.  Their  writers  on  music  were  the  mathematicians, 
who  treated  it  as  a  mathematical  science.'  The  drama  was  little 
more  than  a  musical  recitative,  while  the  chorus  was  intoned.  Their 
theatres  being  open,  roofless  areas,  where  thousands  gathered,  it  was 
often  necessary  to  resort  to  the  use  of  metallic  masks  to  increase  the 
sonorousness  of  the  voices  of  the  actors. 

The  systems  thus  developed  were  complex  and  diflicult  in  the  ex- 
treme, and  were  capable  of  being  understood  and  prac-  The  notation 
ticed  by  only  a  favored  few,  who  must  give  years  complicated, 
of  study  to  their  mastery.  Moreover,  there  was  little  attempt  to 
popularize  these  systems  and  to  bring  them  into  general  use.  On 
the  contrary,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  design  on  the  part  of  those 
who  treated  this  subject  to  make  it  the  property  of  the  few  who 
were  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the  science  as  it  was  taught  by 
the  philosophers.  Their  musical  notation  was,  therefore,  most  in- 
volved and  perplexing.  The  characters  invented  by  the  Greek  writ- 
ers on  musical  harmonics  have  been  placed  as  high  as  sixteen  hundred 
and  twenty.'*  Since  these  were  no  better  than  so  many  Mere  arbitrary 
arbitrary  marks  or  signs  placed  on  a  line  over  the  words  signs. 
of  the  song,  and  had  no  natural  or  analogical  signification,  the  sys- 
tem must  have  imposed  on  the  memory  an  intolerable  burden.^  Be- 
fore the  advent  of  Christianity  the  Greek  system  had  somewhat 
fallen  into  disuse,  and  the  practical  spirit  of  the  conquer- 
ing Romans  was  unfavourable  to  the  cultivation  and  not  patrons  of 
patronage  of  the  fine  arts.  Their  great  men  were  en-  '^'''^" 
gaged  in  the  affairs  of  state,  and  in  developing  and  perfecting 
political  policies  for  a  now  practically  unified  nation.  They  had, 
indeed,  rejected  the  complex  musical  notation  of  the  Greeks,  which 
had  been  the  product  of  refined  speculation,  and  in  place  of  the  six- 
teen hundred  and  twenty  characters  had  substituted  the  first  fifteen 
letters  of  their  own  alphabet.      Thus   the   enharmonic  and  even 

'  Hawkins:  A  General  History  of  the  Science  and  Practice  of  Music,  London, 
1853,  vol.  i,  p.  103.  "With  this  view  agree  Dr.  WalHs  and  many  other  high 
authorities. 

"^  Some  authorities  place  the  number  at  twelve  hundred  and  forty.  It  is  very  dif- 
ficult to  determine,  but  fortunately  the  question  is  of  slight  archaeological  import- 
ance. 

*  Hawkins:   History  of  Music,  vol.  i,  p.  104. 


343  ARCHEOLOGY   OP   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

chromatic  scales  had  fallen  into  disuse,  and  the  more  natural 
The  diatonic  diatonic  with  its  greater  simplicity  and  sweetness  had 
adopted.  been  accepted. 

The  old  Greek  music  had  virtually  perished  in  its  childhood, 
and  the  world  lost  little  or  nothing.  It  is  highly  probable  that  the 
Western  Church  first  developed  a  truly  Christian  music,  such  as 
contributed  to  the  highest  edification  of  believers,  when  it  com- 
pletely broke  away  from  Greek  influences.'  The  art  of  Greece 
Greece  had  no  was  largely  objective.  In  music,  therefore,  the  Greeks 
Mifh  music.  (Ji(j  not  attain  to  those  grand  results  which  in  sculp- 
ture, architecture,  and  poetry  have  been  entirely  incomparable. 
The  best  authorities  are  in  substantial  agreement  that  they  wei'e 
not  acquainted  with  music  in  consonance,  or  with  harmony  in  its 
modern  sense.  Their  music  was  simply  a  succession,  and  not  a 
harmon}^,  of  sounds.* 

But  with  Christianity  began  an  era  of  feeling  and  contemplation. 

christianit        From  the  study  of  government  and  the  state  it  directed 

first  developed  attention  to  the  life,  obligations,  and  destiny  of  the  in- 

^'*  dividual.     This  tendency  to  introspection,  and  to  the 

study  of   the   condition  of  the  feelings,  gave    occasion   for   their 

expression  by  methods  in  harmony  with  this  new  view  of  individual 

life  and  duty.     Music  is  the  art  which  of  all  others  is  expressive 

of  the  feelings  of  the  soul.'     Unlike  poetry,  architecture,  sculpture, 

or  painting,  music  can  express  itself  freely  and  completely  without 

the   aid   of   other   arts.*     Hence  it    might  be  supposed  that   each 

nation  and  each  independent  religious  or  psychical  de- 
Each  nation  de-  ^       .  ^         . 

veiops  its  pe-  velopment   would   have   its  own  music   to   express  its 

cuhar  music,      peculiar   emotional    condition,   just  as    each   nation  or 

tribe  has  had  its  own  language  or  idiom.  ^     Since  every  religion  has 

had  much  to  do  with  the  sentiments  and  emotions — Christianity 

most  of  all — this  new  revelation  of  God  to  man  in  Jesus   Christ 

would  greatly  quicken  the  emotional  nature  and  lead  its  followers 

to  devise  means  for  its  appropriate  expression. 

'  Kiesewetter :  Geschichte  der  europaisch-ahendlandischen  oder  unser  heutigen  Mu- 
sik,  s.  2. 

^  This  has  been  a  subject  of  protracted  controversy.  Doubtless  the  lack  of  clear 
definition  has  been  one  cause  of  the  great  diversity  of  opinion.  The  preponderance 
of  autliority  is  in  favour  of  the  statement  of  the  text. 

^  Haweis :  Music  and  Morals,  p.  10. 

"  "  The  musician  has  less  connection  with  the  outward  world  than  any  other  artist. 
He  must  turn  the  thought  inward  to  seek  the  inspiration  of  his  art  in  the  deepest 
recesses  of  his  own  being."  Goethe:  Wilhelm  Meister,  bk.  ii,  cap.  ix.  Brendel: 
GescJiichte  der  Miisik,  s.  8. 

*  P.  Clement:  Histoire  generale  de  la  Musique  Eeligieuse,  p.  4. 


EARLY    CHRISTIAN   MUSIC.  843 

In  obedience  to  this  principle  Ambrose  was  led  to  devise  a  more 
appropriate  music  for  his  churches.  It  is  to  be  deeply  regret- 
ted that  we  have  such  scanty  materials  by  which  to  judge  of  the 
character  and  extent  of  the  Ambrosian  reform.  From  the  few  his- 
toric notices,  and  from  the  musical  traditions  of  the  Latin  Church, 
it  is  believed  that  he  simplified  the  then  prevalent  Ptolemaic  sys- 
tem by  reducing  the  seven  recognised  modes  to  four.  Reduced  the 
lie  deemed  these  sufficient  for  the  proper  conduct  of  the  modes  to  four. 
Church  service.  He  believed  that  thus  the  various  tunes  which  had 
been  hitherto  in  use  could  be  reduced  to  systematic  form,  and  yet 
be  so  simple  that  the  congregation  might  use  them  to  their  own  profit 
and  to  the  common  edification. 

The  four  modes  which  he  thus  borrowed  are  indicated  as  follows: 


The  Antique. 

Media3val. 

Ambrosian. 

Phrygian 

D  to  D 

was  the 

Dorian         was  the 

1st   tone  or  mode. 

Dorian 

E  to  E 

"     " 

Phrygian        "       " 

2d 

Ionian 

F  to  F 

U          11 

Lydian            "       " 

3d 

Hypophrygian 

G  toG 

11      11 

Mixolydian    "       " 

4th       " 

These  seem  to  have  been  distinguished  from  one  another  only  by 
the  place  of  the  half  tones  in  the  gamut,  thus: 

1st  mode  D.  E^F.  G.  A.  ^G.  D. 

2d         "    eTf.  G.  a.  yCq.  D.  E.  Scheme. 

3d         "     F.  G.  A.  H.  C.  D.  e'T'f. 

4th        "     G.  A.  Hfc.  D.  EfF.  G. 

In  this  reform  the  tetrachord  system  was  abandoned,  and  the 
metric  of  the  poetry  determined  the  musical  accent.  It  is  believed 
that  attention  was  given  only  to  the  pitch,  and  not  to  the  volume 
or  length  of  note.  In  the  time  of  Charlemagne  an  attempt  was 
made  to  displace  the  Ambrosian  by  the  Gregorian  chants.  Thus  the 
Ambrosian  notation  was  lost.  It  is  not  even  known  whether  Am- 
brose devised  an  independent  notation,  but  since  his  system  was  of 
Greek  derivation,  it  is  conjectured  that  the  Greek  nota-  peii  into  dis- 
tion  was  retained  in  so  far  as  was  consistent  with  his  i^se. 
purpose.  The  notation  found  in  the  so-called  Ambrosian  singing 
books  is  certainly  of  later  origin:  of  the  original  nothing  has  sur- 
vived. Also,  in  how  far  the  traditional  Ambrosian  chant  resembles 
the  original  is  matter  of  pure  conjecture.^ 

While  the  range  of  the  Ambrosian  chants  must  have   Effect  upon  the 
been  very  narrow,  the  influence  of  the  service  of  song 
upon  the  church  of  Milan  was  most  happy.     Augustine,  who  was 

'  V.  Forkel :  Allgemeine  Geschichte  der  Musik,  Bd.  ii,  ss.  163,  164. 
23 


344  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

accustomed  to  visit  this  then  noted  church,  speaks  of  its  inspira- 
tion to  himself.'  He  afterward  introduced  the  same  form  into  the 
churches  of  his  own  diocese,  and  by  personal  efforts  and  the  writing 
of  a  systematic  treatise  became  a  zealous  promoter  of  sacred  poetry 
and  music. 

During  the  following  two  and  one  half  centuries  the  Ambrosian 
chants  seem  to  have  been  widely  used  in  the  Latin  Church.  This 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  they  are  mentioned  in  the  acts  of  the 
fourth  Council  of  Toledo,  A.  D.  633,  as  forming  a  part  of  the  ser- 
vice in  the  Spanish  churches.  They  gave  form,  method,  and  dig- 
nity to  the  public  singing.  The  adaptation  of  words  to  these  modes 
became  a  matter  of  deep  interest  to  the  bishops,  so  that  even  in  the 
most  trying  and  stormy  times  of  Roman  history  the  impressiveness 
and  solemnity  of  the  public  services  were  maintained. 

The  Avritings  of  Macrobius,  Capella,  Cassiodorus,  and  Boethius  ex- 
other  writers  ©rted  little  modifying  influence  on  the  music  of  the 
on  music.  Church.     They  lost  sight  of  the  practical  needs  of  the 

times,  and  returned  to  the  study  of  the  theory  of  proportions  as 
developed  by  the  aid  of  arithmetic  and  geometry.  Even  the  pious 
Boethius,  in  his  labored  work,  de  Musica,  does  not  once  refer  either 
to  the  use  of  instruments,  to  the  voice  as  used  in  the  singing  of  the 

sanctuary,   or  to  any  practical  application  of  his  ab- 
Boethius.  ^  i    ,•  tt  i  -n  o     ■, 

striise  speculations.     He  was  a  close  adherent  of  the 

Pythagorean    theory,    that   consonances   or    harmonies    are   to   be 

determined  by  mathematical  ratios  and  not  by  the  ear.     His  chief 

merit  is  that  he  has  preserved  the  elements  of  the  ancient  systems 

of  music;  which  fact  makes  it  isossible  to  compare  them  with  what 

is  now  extant,  and  thus  determine  the  originality  of  the  modern 

masters  of  harmony.^ 

So  far  as  can  be  inferred  from  either  literary  or  monumental 
evidence,  no  further  musical  reform  was  effected  until  near  the 
close  of  the  sixth  century.  After  his  elevation  to  the  pontificate, 
Gregory  the  Great  gave  much  thought  to  the  improvement  of  the 
Church  ritual,  and  originated  a  style  of  music  which  has  borne  his 
name.  The  Gregorian  chant  ( Cantiis  Gregorianus)  marks  a  revo- 
lution no  less  distinct  than  useful.  Such  has  been  the  tenacity  of 
its  life  that  it  is  still  the  leading  form  in  nearly  all  the  Catholic 
churches,  and  has  modified  the  singing  in  some  Protestant  churches, 
notably  the  Lutheran  and  Anglican. 

By  his  patrician  rank,  his  sound  learning,  his  wide  experience  of 
piiblic  affairs,  and  his  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  most  noted  men 
of  his  age,  Gregory  was  thoroughly  qualified  to  exert  a  commanding 

'  Confessiones,  ix,  vii.  "  Hawkins:  History  of  Music,  pp.  124,  125. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   MUSIC.  345 

influence  on  both  the  temporal  and  spiritual  interests  of  the  West- 
ern Empire.  The  missionary  and  reformatory  schemes  which  he 
successfully  executed  give  to  his  pontificate  a  prominent  Gregory's 
place  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  His  eiforts  to  s^eat  services. 
mitigate  the  severities  of  slavery,  and  to  secure  a  more  com- 
plete recognition  of  the  rights  of  the  poor  before  the  law,  often 
brought  him  into  conflict  with  the  temporal  authorities.  He  has 
been  accused  of  undue  ambition;  but  this  charge  is  not  sustained, 
since  in  all  his  eiforts  he  seems  to  have  had  little  thought  of  per- 
sonal aggrandizement,  but  was  only  zealous  for  the  honor  and  suc- 
cess of  the  Church.  The  service  which  he  rendered  Church  music 
was  great  and  lasting.  Besides  substituting  the  Roman  letters  for 
the  Greek  characters  in  his  notation,'  he  reformed  the  antiphonary, 
and  founded  and  endowed  seminaries  for  the  study  of  music.  By 
the  aid  of  singers  herein  trained,  the  improvements  which  Gregory 
had  devised  were  widely  introduced  into  the  public  worship  of  the 
West,  and  thus  the  influence  of  his  reform  was  more  lasting  than 
otherwise  had  been  possible. 

"  He  also  took  time,  even  amid  the  great  cares  that  severely  taxed 
his  frail  body,  to  examine  with  what  tunes  the  psalms,  Maimbourg's 
hymns,  orisons,  verses,  responses,  canticles,  lessons,  estimate, 
epistles,  the  gospel,  the  prefaces,  and  the  Lord's  Prayer  were  to  be 
sung;  what  were  the  tunes,  measures,  notes,  and  moods  most  suit- 
able to  the  majesty  of  the  Church,  and  most  proper  to  inspire  devo- 
tion." "^  The  accounts  given  by  John  the  Deacon  in  his  life  of 
Gregory  relative  to  the  services  of  this  pontiff  are  quite  circum- 
stantial, and  awaken  our  admiration  of  his  energy  and  tireless 
industry  to  perfect  the  Church  service.^ 

The  so-called  Ambrosian  system  was  the  basis  of  the  Gregorian 
improvement.  The  four  modes  of  this  system  were  retained.  To 
these  were  added  four  others,  so  that  the  first  note  in  the  Gregory's  re- 
Ambrosian  became  the  fourth  of  the  Gregorian.  The  '°^'"- 
original  Ambrosian  modes  were  called  A  uthentic,  and  the  four  added 
ones,  Plagal,  as  follows: 

1st  Ambrosian  or  authentic  mode  D.KF.G.A.HX.D-  gave  rise  to  1st  Plagal  A.H.C.D.E.F.G.  A. 

2d            "            "            "            "  e3'.G.A.H?C.D.E.  "      "        3d      "  H.C.D.E.F.G.A.H. 

3d           "           F.G.A.HX:.D.£f.  "      "       3d      "  C.D.E.F.G.A.H.C. 

4tll          "           "            "            "  G.A.HX!.D.£f.G.  "      "       4th     "  D.E.F.G.A.H.C.D. 

'  That  Gregory  was  not  the  inventor  of  the  Latin  notation  is  shown  by  Fetis  : 
Histoire  generale  de  la  Miisique,  t.  iii,  pp.  521-528. 

'Maimbourg:  Histoire  du  Pontificai  de  St.  Gregoire,  Paris,  1686,  pp.  330,  331. 
*  Johannes  Diaconus :   in  Vita  Greg.,  lib.  ii,  cap.  vi. 


346 


ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 


The  following  modern  notation  is  believed  to  represent  these  Au- 
thentic and  Plagal  modes: 


1st  Authentic. 


1st  Plagal. 


2d  Authentic. 


2d  Plagal. 


^ 


^4^^ 


'^'  ^'fr"r^ 


3d  Authentic. 


3d  Plagal. 


^^^ 


^'  >;  yp'  r  ^ 


4th  Authentic. 


4th  Plagal. 


With  Ambrose,  Gregory  exchanged  the  irrational  system  of 
the  Greek  tetrachord  for  the  system  of  the  octave,  which  is  now 
recognised  as  the  only  natural  system.  He  also  liberated  the  melody 
from  the  metric  accent,  thus  allowing  to  the  melody  a  more  free  and 
independent  development  according  to  its  own  laws.^ 

'  Kiesewetter :  Op.  cit,  Bd.  i,  p.  5.  Reissmann  :  Gregorianischer  Gesang  in  Mvsi- 
calisches  Conversations-Lexicon,  Bd.  iv.  ss.  346,  347.  In  a  melodic  sense  (Gregory  be- 
ing unacquainted  with  harmony)  an  authentic  mode  was  a  melody  moving  from 
Tonica  to  Tonica.  It  is  thought  that  by  such  modes  the  ancient  Christians  gave 
expression  to  firmness,  deep  conviction,  or  abounding  joy.     Those  melodies  that 


I    ^  ^«    Pcvl  MUS*    viafTuftrdne- 

Vr  -"     -      /     '^ 
niuer   fx     ciui  tf^  e^pecrxnr 


//-. 


Plats  IX.— Facsimile  of  the  first  page  of  the  Antiphonarium  of  Gregory  the  Great.. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN   MUSIC,  349 

The  contribution  to  the  improvement  of  music  by  this  increase  of 
tones  can  be  better  appreciated  by  observing  the  change  eifected 
in  the  place  and  use  of  the  Dominant  and  the  Final  note.  The 
Ambrosian  chant  recognized  but  four  modes,  or  eight  sounds  in  a 
natural  or  diatonic  order  of  progression,  proceeding  from  Nature  of  this 
D,  E,  F,  and  G  to  the  octave  of  the  same.  This  sys-  reform. 
tem  required  the  chant  to  begin  and  end  on  the  same  note.  The 
Dominant  (so  called  from  the  note  which  was  most  prominent  in 
the  rendering  of  the  chant,  "  the  note  on  which  the  recitative  is  made 
in  each  psalm  or  canticle  tune  ")  did  not,  therefore,  accord  with  the 
fundamental  or  key  note  of  modern  music,  upon  which  all  the  har- 
mony must  be  based.  In  the  Ambrosian  chant  the  frequent  return 
to  the  fundamental  note  was  necessary  in  order  to  keep  the  voices 
of  the  chanters  and  of  the  congregation  in  unison  by  being  sustained 
at  the  proper  pitch,  and  holding  to  the  mode  to  which  the  chant  was 
set.  The  Gregorian  chant  differed  from  the  Ambrosian  also  in  the 
place  of  ending.  While  the  latter  must  return  to  the  note  of  begin- 
ning, the  former  permitted  the  final  to  be  other  than  the  lowest 
note,  thereby  giving  a  greater  variety  to  the  ending  of  the  chants. 
*'  Each  of  the  Plagal  modes  added  by  Gregory  is  a  fourth  below  its 
corresponding  original,  and  is  called  by  the  same  name,  with  the  pre- 
fix hypo  (  vTxo)  below,  as  follows:  5.  Hypodorian;  6.  Hypophrygian; 
V.  Hypolydian;  8.  H^qjomixolydian.  Each  scale  here  also  consists 
of  a  perfect  fifth  and  a  perfect  fourth,  but  the  positions  are  re- 
versed; the  fourth  is  now  below,  and  the  fifth  above.  In  the 
Plagal  scales  the  Final  is  no  longer  the  lowest  note,  but  is  the 
same  as  that  in  the  corresponding  Authentic  scale.  Thus  the  final 
of  the  Hypodorian  mode  is  not  A,  but  D,  and  a  melody  in  that 
mode,  though  ranging  from  about  A  to  A,  ends  regularly  on  D, 
as  in  the  Dorian.  .  .  .  The  semitones  m  each  scale  naturally  vary 
as  before.  The  Dominants  of  the  new  scales  are  in  each  case 
a  third  below  those  of  the  old  ones,  C  being,  however,  substi- 
tuted for  B  in  the  Hypomixolydian,  as  it  had  been  before  in  the 
Phrygian,  on  account  of  the  relations  between  B  and  the  F  above 
and  below."  ' 

This  system  was  subsequently  developed  by  the  ad-   Further  devei- 
dition  of  two  other  Authentic  modes,  called  the  ^olian   °P'°®'^'- 
and  the  Ionian,  and  of  their  corresponding  Plagals — the  Hypoaeolian 

moved  around  the  Tonica  were  called  Plagal.  These  are  believed  to  have  been 
expressive  of  variable  emotions,  or  of  a  more  pensive  and  subdued  state  of  religious 
feeling. 

'  V.  Rev.   Thomas   Helmore   in    Grove's   Musical  Dictionary,  vol.  i,  p.  626,  article 
"  Gregorian  Modes." 


350  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ART. 

and  the  Hypoionian.  Thus  resulted  a  complete  scheme  which  has 
powerfully  influenced  the  ecclesiastical  music  of  the  Western  Church. 
The  Ritual  Service  books  have  been  a  means  of  preserving  this  im- 
proved system,  so  that  in  most  churches  of  Western  Europe  the  psalm 
and  canticle  tunes,  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  the  Benedictus,  the  Anti- 
phones,  the  Nicene  Creed,  the  Processions,  etc.,  are  based  essentially 
on  the  scheme  which  Gregory  devised,  and  on  whose  strictest  observ- 
ance he  so  strongly  insisted.' 

Gregory  also  invented  a  system  of  notation  for  his  improved 
Gregorian  An-  method.  Tradition  says  that  his  Antiphonarium,  the 
tipiionarium.  book  containing  this  notation,  was  kept  chained  to 
the  altar  in  the  Basilica  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  in  order  that  it 
might  be  immediately  consulted  in  case  of  any  suspected  inno- 
vation in  the  choral  service.  In  order  to  conform  the  music  in 
the  churches  of  his  empire  to  this  standard  it  is  claimed  that 
Charlemagne,  in  A.  D.  790,  applied  to  Pope  Adrian  I.  for  a  copy 
of  this  manuscript  Antiphonarium.  The  copy  is  now  one  of  the 
most  valued  treasures  in  the  library  of  the  Abbey  of  St.  Gall  in 
Switzerland.'^ 

Plate  IX  represents  the  first  page  of  Lambillotte's  facsimile  of 
this  famous  manuscript.  It  contains  portions  of  Psalm  xxv;  on  this 
page  are  parts  of  verses  1,  2,  3,  b?  The  extreme  care  with  which  this 
work  was  prepared  proves  the  thoroughness  of  the  Gregorian  re- 
form. The  various  marks  connected  with  the  words. 
The  num£e.  i     •      n  n    t  i  t    •      i     i  c   ■, 

technically  called  niimcB,  have  elicited  the  most  careful 

and  patient  study;  but  their  meaning  and  use  have  not  yet  been 
determined.  Whether  they  were  a  system  of  musical  notation,  or 
were  indications  to  the  singers  of  variation  in  quality  and  volume  of 
tone,  is  still  a  matter  of  debate.     Already  in  the  time  of  Guido  of 

1  Helmore :    Op.  cit,  vol.  i,  p.  627. 

^  This  copy  at  St.  Gall  was  most  faithfully  facsimiled  under  the  direction  of  the 
zealous  Jesuit,  Lambillotte,  in  1848  (v.  his  work  Antiphonaire  de  Saint  Gregoire,  Fac- 
simile du  Manuscript  de  Saint- Gall,  VIII'  Steele,  Paris,  1851,  4to.)  He  claims  that 
the  manuscript  is  authentic,  and  contains  the  system  as  it  was  instituted  by 
Gregory.  Against  the  objections  to  its  authenticity  urged  by  Danjou,  Fetis,  and 
others  (who  claim  that  it  is  of  a  later  origin)  Lambillotte  gives  what  he  regards  abun- 
dant evidence,  both  external  and  internal,  of  its  genuineness.  The  art  work  con- 
nected with  the  Antiphonarium  would  point  to  an  origin  not  later  than  the  tenth 
century,  possibly  considerably  earlier,  v.  also  Coussemaker :  Histoire  de  Pharmonie 
au  moyen  age. ;  and  Schubiger :  Silngerschule  St.  Gallens  vom  achten  bis  zwolften  Jahr- 
hunderte. 

*  The  text  is  sufficiently  clear  to  most  readers:  Ad  te  levavi  animam  meam,  Deua 
mens,  in  te  confido  non  erubescam.  [Psalmus.]  Vias  tuas,  Domiue  [ad  repeten- 
dum],  dirige  me  in  veritate  tua  [responsorium  graduale].  Universi  qui  te  expectant 
non  cont'undentur,  Domine.     Yias  tuas,  Domine,  etc. 


-^^^^^"^    =>. 


^3=3^ 


Alle       lix  -  ja 

EnregJiAtor  coela  »|}   ttja     et 

No.  1. 


Fj=^ 


■^  ff  1^ .  "^  ♦^  ^ 


Clo  ria       in    CS  cel  si^     dc  -  O 

No.  2. 


/•    «/ 


*^^  /r^r-,  rff^    /%  <^ 


?=l^=^ 


'>r  fi   J^    ^       ,.^  / 


Domvcs      me      a     clo    thus      o  ra  ti  0    ni5, 

No.  3. 


/r'/'-'>      //-^a^^^V    Z*^*^ 


■^  «!     ^     g^A    ;-»»-«t- 


:5!^ 


-tt-l^ 


^%.^   ^     "■     J<  ^     iP*  rf^ 


^ 


Tecum principi  urn  in  di  -*       e  virtu 

No.  4. 

Plate  X.— Facsimiles  of  Earliest  Musical  Manuscripts. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   MUSIC.  353 

Arezzo  (eleventh  century)  their  signification  had  been  lost.'  Much 
learned  comment  upon  them  has  appeared,  and  a  few  writers  claim 
that  the  key  to  their  meaning  has  been  discovered. 

We  give  examples  from  four  most  ancient  and  interesting  codices, 
now  preserved  in  the  abbey  libraries  of  St.  Gall  and      ,„    ,    ,. 

^  .  -^  Illustrations 

Einsiedeln,  Switzerland  (v.  Plate  X).     No.  1  is  a  "Hal-      andtransia- 
lelujah"  from   the  tenth   century,^  giving  the  accom-      ^^°^- 
panying  numse  and  the  suggested  translation  into  modern  musical 
notation.     It  is  from  the  library  of  St.  Gall. 

No.  2  is  a  facsimile  of  an  early  Gloria  in  excelsis  from  a  codex 
now  preserved  in  the  abbey  library  of  Einsiedeln.'  The  numse  are 
well  defined;  the  manuscript  is  among  the  earliest.  It  is  very  inter- 
esting as  giving  this  noble  hymn  of  the  early  Church,  and  seems  to 
justify  the  earnest  attempts  to  find  the  key  to  the  strange  notation 
whose  discovery  would  so  materially  aid  in  the  appreciation  of  the 
work  of  Ambrose  and  of  Gregory  in  the  reform  of  ecclesiastical 
music. 

No.  3  is  from  the  same  codex,  showing  a  still  more  complicated 
system  of  numte."  In  the  appended  scale  is  given  the  proposed 
equivalent  in  the  modern  notation. 

No.  4  is  the  copy  of  a  portion  of  a  very  early  codex  in  the 
abbey  library  of  St.  Gall,^  in  which  the  numse  are  found  in  their 
greatest  complication.  As  in  the  foregoing,  the  accompanying  scale 
is  a  tentative  translation  of  the  same. 

While  names  and  values  have  been  given  to  every  distinct  numa 
and  to  their  combination  in  these  early  manuscripts,  it   no  key  to  the 
is  exceedingly  doubtful  whether  any  of  the  interpreta-   numis. 
tions  have  proved  satisfactory;  much  less  have  they  real  historic 
foundation. 

The  Gregorian  system  contained  the  germs  of  the  later  advanced 
and  perfected  system  of  Church  music;  but  during  the  stormy  times 
following  the  pontificate  of  Gregory  it  fell  somewhat  into  neglect, 
and  even  the  hymns  which  he  had  so  carefully  prepared  and  ar- 
ranged to  music  for  the  use  of  the  Church  were  in  danger  of  being 
lost.     A  few  learned  men  took  upon  themselves  the  duty  of  saving 

'  V.  Migne:  Patrologice,  torn.  141,  pp.  413,  414.  AIub  Ghiidonis  regulce  de  ignoto  cantu, 
"  Vix  denique  unus  concordat  alteri,  non  magistro  discipulus  nee  discipulus  condis- 
cipulis,"  etc. 

*  From  Cod.  S.  Galli,  No.  338,  sisc.  x.  v.  Schubiger:  SdngerscJiule  St.  Gallen, 
s.  iv,  No.  22. 

^  From  Cod.  Einsidlensi,  No.  121.     Schubiger:    Op.  dt.,  s.  iii,  No.  5. 

*  Schubiger:    Op.  ciL,  s.  iii,  No.  12. 

*  From  Codex  S.  Galli,  No.  359.     Schubiger :    Op.  cit,  s.  iii,  No.  7. 


354  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

to  the  Church  what  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  do  by  means 
of  simijle  tradition.     Even  duriniy  the  lifetime  of  Gi'eff- 

Perpetuation  ^  .   .  .  ^  ° 

of  the  (iieffo-  ory  the  ambition  of  musical  leaders  strove  to  break 
nau  reform.  away  from  the  simplicity  of  his  prescribed  methods, 
and  so  frequent  and  serious  were  the  innovations  which  threatened 
the  purity  of  the  choral  service  after  his  death  that  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal court  at  Rome  was  frequently  besought  by  the  temporal  princes 
to  interpose  to  restore  it  to  its  simplicity  and  save ,  it  from  utter 
extinction.' 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  in  the  development  of  this  new  sys- 
tem Gregory  and  his  helpers  had  a  deeper  insight  into  the  essentials 
of  an  ecclesiastic  music  than  any  of  their  predecessors.  While  he 
betook  himself  without  stint  to  the  study  of  the  music  of  the  Greeks, 
his  system  was  original  in  its  greater  simplicit}*,  in  the 
richness  of  its  results,  and  in  its  practical  adaptation  to 
the  wants  of  the  Church.  As  in  other  fine  arts,  so  here,  from  the 
materials  at  hand  Christianity  constructed  a  new  body,  and 
breathed  into  it  its  own  new  spirit  of  life  and  hope.'  It  is  probable 
that  the  chants  of  the  Christian  liturgy  had  no  more  resemblance 
to  the  Greek  melodies  than  the  sacerdotal  garments  of  the  Christ- 
ians had  to  those  of  the  Levites  or  the  priests  of  Zeus.  In  these  re- 
spects this  ecclesiastical  music  may  be  I'egarded  as  original,  and  not 
a  derivation  from  the  old  Greek  musical  theory  or  notation.^ 

While  it  is  probable  that  the  Ambrosian  chant,  introduced  into 
Milan,  resembled  in  some  respects  that  which  was  used  in  the 
churches  of  Basil  and  Chrysostom,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  nei- 
ther these  simple  modes,  nor  even  the  improved  and  perfected 
modes  of  the  Gregorian  chant,  could  satisfy  the  restless  and  fiery 
spirit  of  the  East. 

The  Greek  Church  was  then  expending  her  energies  in  wrang- 
,r    -J    ,•    J   ling  over  dogmas    often  the  most   insignificant.     The 

Music  declined    .      .  '^.  ^  .        . 

in  the  Eastern  intimate  relations  of  the  temporal  and  ecclesiastical 
churches.  powers  likewise  subjected  this  Church  to  influences  de- 

structive of  the  simplicity  and  purity  of  Christian  faith.  The  great 
festivals  were  celebrated  with  a  pomp  and  splendor  of  ceremonial 
before  unknown.  It  was  not  the  happy  alliance  of  religion  and  art 
to  express  and  more  powerfully  to  inculcate  the  saving  truths  of 
Christianity,  but  a  degeneration  into  a  semibarbarian  finery  and 
senseless  extravagance  indicative  of  spiritual  bondage,  and  destruc- 
tive alike  of  purity  of  doctrine  and  of  nobility  of  art.     Hence  this 

'  Kiesewetter:   Op.  cit.,  p.  7.     Hawkins:    Op.  cit.,  vol.  i,  p.  131. 
"  Ambros:    Op.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  p.  11. 
3  Clement:    Op.  cit,  p.  22. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  MUSIC.  355 

condition  of  absolutism  in  the  state,  and  of  superstition  in  the  Church, 
was  most  unfavorable  to  the  development  of  poetry  and  music,  as 
well  as  of  painting  and  sculpture.  Hence,  too,  the  simple  and  impres- 
sive Gregorian  modes  were  never  introduced  into  the  Greek  Church. 
New  and  extravagant  modes  were  devised,  and  the  singing  of  the 
processions  and  of  the  Church  services  was  intermingled  with  the 
braying  of  trumpets  and  the  clangor  of  horns.  Only  eunuchs  were 
admitted  to  the  choirs,  whose  very  dress  was  an  example  of  degen- 
erate finery.  Thus  every  thing  in  the  Greek  Church,  Decadence  of 
after  the  sixth  century,  took  on  that  type  which  is  the  decadencT^of 
sure  effect,  as  well  as  evidence,  of  a  decadence  of  faith  art. 
and  manners.'  The  bondage  of  art  to  false  and  degenerate  Church 
standards  repressed  all  vigor  and  originality  in  the  artists.  The 
iconoclastic  spirit  declared  war  against  sculptured  images,  while  a 
subsequent  degrading  superstition  came  to  attach  special  sanctity  to 
the  most  grotesque  and  repulsive  pictures.'^ 

'  Early  Christian  music  is  a  subject  of  peculiar  difficult}'.  The  researches  of  the 
historians  have  been  most  thorough ;  yet  with  respect  to  some  features  of  the  sub- 
ject there  seems  to  be  little  promise  of  substantial  agreement.  The  immense  liter- 
ature of  the  subject,  down  to  near  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  as  given  by 
Forkel:  Allgemeine  Literatur  der  Musik,  etc.,  Leipzig,  1792,  and  by  other  writers 
since  his  day,  may  well  induce  modesty  of  opinion  respecting  many  controverted 
points. 

2  "  The  ruder  the  art  the  more  intense  the  superstition.  The  perfection  of  the  fine 
arts  tends  rather  to  diminish  than  promote  such  superstition.  .  .  .  There  is  more 
direct  idolatry  paid  to  the  rough  and  illshapen  image,  or  the  flat,  unrelieved,  or  star- 
ing picture — the  former  actually  clothed  in  gaudy  or  tinsel  ornaments,  the  latter  with 
the  crown  of  goldleaf  on  the  head,  and  real  or  artificial  flowers  in  the  hand — than  to 
the  noblest  ideal  statue,  or  the  Holy  Family  with  all  the  magic  of  light  and  shade." 
Milman:  Latin  Ghristianity,  ii,  pp.  303,  304. 

"  These  miraculous  images  were  not  admitted  to  be  the  work  of  man,  but  were 
proclaimed  to  have  fallen  from  heaven,  to  have  been  dug  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth,  or  obtained  in  some  similar  mysterious  manner.  Others  were  said  to  be  as 
old  as  the  religion  itself,  such  as  the  picture  of  Christ  in  Edessa,  given  by  the  Saviour 
himself  to  the  messengers  of  King  Abgarus,  and  the  many  portraits  of  the  Madonna 
painted  by  the  evangelist  Luke,  etc.  Idolatry  of  this  kind  excited  the  ridicule  of  the 
unbelieving,  the  serious  disapprobation  of  the  Church,  and,  finally,  the  forcible  inter- 
ference of  the  temporal  powers.  This  destruction  of  earlier  artistic  monuments, 
antl  interference  with  the  customary  pictures,  resulted  in  a  change  in  the  traditional 
manner  of  representation,  and  gave  to  all  succeeding  Byzantine  art  a  somewhat 
diflferent  character.  The  objection  had  not  been  raised  against  painting  itself,  but 
against  the  portrayal  of  Christ,  of  tlie  Virgin,  and  of  the  saints :  thus  the  attention 
of  the  artists  was  diverted  from  sacred  subjects  to  other  themes,  and  the  merely 
decorative  treatment  of  the  ecclesiastical  edifices  again  became  of  importance." 
Reber:  History  of  ifediceval  Art,  New  York,  1887,  p.  92. 

"  Let  us  be  thoroughly  penetrated  with  the  thought  that  art  is  also  to  itself  a  kind 
of  religion.     God  manifests  himself  to  us  by  the  idea  of  the  true,  by  the  idea  of  the 


356  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  ART. 

good,  by  the  idea  of  tbe  beautiful.  Eacli  one  of  them  leads  to  God,  because  it  comes 
from  him.  True  beauty  is  ideal  beautj',  and  ideal  beauty  is  the  reflection  of  the 
infinite.  So,  independently  of  all  official  alliance  with  religion  and  morals,  art  is  by 
itself  essentially  religious  and  moral ;  for,  far  from  wanting  its  own  law,  its  own 
genius,  it  everywhere  expresses  in  its  works  eternal  beauty.  .  .  .  Every  work  of  art, 
whatever  may  be  its  form,  small  or  great,  figured,  sung,  or  uttered — every  work  of 
art,  truly  beautiful  or  sublime — throws  the  soul  into  a  gentle  reverie  that  exalts  it 
toward  the  infinite.  Tlie  infinite  is  the  common  limit  after  which  the  soul  aspires 
upon  the  wings  of  imagination  as  well  as  reason,  by  the  route  of  the  sublime  and 
beautiful  as  well  as  by  that  of  the  true  and  the  good.  The  emotion  that  the  beau- 
tiful produces  turns  the  soul  from  this  world ;  it  is  the  beneficent  emotion  that  art 
produces  for  humanity."     Cousin:   Tlie  True,  the  Beautiful,  and  the  Good,  p.  164. 


BOOK  SECOND, 


The  Arch/EOlogy  of  the  Constitution  and  Government 
OF  THE  Early  Christian  Church. 


THE   ARCHEOLOGY 

OF 


CHURCH  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  IN  ITS  IDEA  AND  ORIGIN. 
§  1.  New  Testament  Idea  of  the  Church. 

Christ  taught  his  disciples  to  pray,  "  Thy  kingdom  come  "  (Matt. 
vi,  10).     He  designates  his  Church  as  "the  kingdom  of 
God,"  Tr\v  ISaotXeiav  tov  deov  (Matt,  vi,  33;  John  iii,  3,  ^°^  °™' 

et  al.) ;  "  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  rj  f^aocXeia  tCjv  ovpavcbv  (Matt. 
V,  3;  xi,  11;  xviii,  1,  et  al.);  or  simply  "my  kingdom,"  or  "the  king- 
dom," 7]  fiaoiXeia  fiov,  ttjv  (3aoLXeiav  (Matt,  xiii,  38;  Luke  xii,  32; 
Luke  xxii,  30,  et  al.). 

The  term  kKKX7}oia  *  is  used  by  Christ  (Matt,  xvi,  18)  to  describe 
the  unified  and  collected  body  of  disciples ;  in  Matt,  xviii,  17,  it  seems 
restricted  and  localized.^  It  is  applied  by  Luke  to  the  company  of 
the  disciples  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  (Acts  ii,  47);  and  to  an 
ordinary  town  assembly  (Acts  xix,  41).  In  other  passages  in  the 
New  Testament  it  signifies  the  whole  body  of  sanctified  Christian 
believers  (Eph.  v,  27;  Phil,  iii,  6;  Col.  i,  18,  24,  et  al.);  an  organ- 
ized church  placed  under  pastors  (1  Cor.  xii,  18;  Phil,  iv,  15, 
et  al.);  the  separate  societies  of  a  district  or  province  (Gal.  i,  2; 
2  Cor.  vii,  19);  and  sometimes  the  Christians  gathered  for  wor- 
ship, or  the  assemblies  of  these  societies  (1  Cor.  iv,  17;  xiv,  19-28, 
et  al.).  In  all  these  passages  the  word  measurably  preserves 
its  radical  signification,  KaXelv,  to  call,  to  invite/  KXrjmg,  a  call,  a 
calling,  ^' the  divine  invitation  to  embrace  salvation  in  the  kingdom 
of  God''"'  (Thayer's  Grimm-Wilkie,  s.  v.);  kXi]toi,  the  called,  "the 
invited  to  salvatio?i,^''  etc.  The  fundamental  notion  thus  suggested 
by  this  word  is  the  body  or  assembly  of  those  called  or  "  i?ivited  to 
obtain  eternal  salvation  in  the  kingdom  of  God  through  Christ?^ 

'  Hatch  shows  that  iKKTuiaia  was  the  term  used  for  the  "  meeting  "  of  the  associa- 
tions of  which  there  were  so  many  in  the  early  centuries.  Organization  of  the  Early 
Christian  Churches,  p.  80. 

"^  On  the  genuineness  of  Matt,  xvi,  18,  and  xviii,  17,  much  diversity  of  opinion  exists. 


360    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

Another  characterization  quite  frequent  in  the  epistles  is  aw^ua 
The  body  of  Xpiorov  (1  Cor.  xii,  27;  Eph.  iii,  6;  iv,  4,  et  al.).  "Ye 
Christ.  are  the  body  of  Christ,''''  and  this  "  body  is  one,"  of 

v\^hich  "  Christ  is  the  Saviour." 
The  Church  is  also  represented  under  the  figure  of  a  "  spiritual 
house,"  oIko^  nvevfiaTiKog  (1  Pet.  ii,  5),  which  is  composed 
of  all  God's  people,  and  which  he  makes  his  dwelling- 
place  (1   Cor.  iii,  16,  17;  2  Cor.  vi,  16;  Rev.  xxi,  3,  et  al);  of  "a 
house,  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord,"  elg  vabv  ayiov  kv  Kvpiu)  (Eph,  ii, 
21,  22). 

It  is  also  spoken  of  as  the  Bride,  of  whom  Christ  is  the  Bride- 
groom, T77V  yvvalita  Trjv  vvfxcp'qv  rov  dpvlov  (Eph.  v,  31, 
32;  Rev.  xxi,  9);  the  Light  of  the  World,  rd  <p(bg  rov 
Koafjiov  (Matt,  v,  14),  et  al. 

From  such  characterizations  it  is  evident  that  the  vital  element  of 
the  Church  is  spiritual.  Its  inspiration  is  from  above;  its  essential 
life  comes  from  direct  contact  with  its  Head  and  Lord.  It  is  more 
than  the  aggregated  life  of  those  who  have  been  sanctified  by  the 
Spirit  through  faith  in  Christ;  it  is  a  living  organism, 
in  which  each  feels  the  inspiration  of  the  entire  body, 
and  the  whole  is  sustained  and  invigorated  by  the  abiding  holiness 
of  the  individual  members. 

Nevertheless,  like  the  Holy  Scriptures,  it  contains  a  divine  and  a 
human  element — a  spirit  and  a  body.  While  the  life  is  spiritual, 
it  must  have  a  medium  of  manifestation.  The  visible  Church  is 
this  body  of  divinely  called  or  invited  men  and  women,  organized 
for  moral  and  religious  ends,  and  which  is  to  become  the  channel 
through  which,  ordinarily,  redemption  is  brought  to  fallen  men,  and 
they  are  fitted  for  the  companionship  of  the  Church  triumphant.* 
The  Church  is  therefore  the  outward  form  which  results 
from  the  Christian  life,  as  this  is  inspired  and  developed 
by  the  divine  Spirit,  and  modified  by  providential  environments 
(Matt,  xviii,  15-18;  John  x,  16;  1  Cor.  xii,  27;  Eph.  iv,  25,  et  al.). 

§  2.    The  Names  applied  to  its  Members. 

The  terms  applied  to  its  individual  membei-s  will  further  illus- 
trate the  original  conception  of  the  Church.      In  the 

DiSClDlGS 

evangelists  they  are  known  only  as  "  disciples,"  nadrjrai, 
of  Christ;  those  who  are  in  the  relation  of  learners  to  a  master, 

^  This  triumph  and  completion  of  the  "kingdom  of  heaven  "  would  be  fully  real- 
ized only  at  the  reappearing  of  Christ  on  earth.  The  powerful  influence  of  this  ex- 
pectation of  the  speedy  second  coming  of  the  Saviour  is  seen  in  various  passages  of 
the  apostolic  writings. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  IN  ITS  IDEA  AND  ORIGIN.       361 

whose  doctrine  they  seek  to  understand  and  heartily  embrace.     They 
are  believers,  ncoToi,  who  apprehend  the  Messiahship  of 
Christ  through  his  words  and  works.     They  are  breth- 
ren, d6eX(f)ol,  who  are  born  of  the  same  spirit,  and  are  associated  in 

most  intimate  fellowship  with  their  Lord  and  with  each 

,  .  /.       •!  Brethren, 

other,  as  m  a  common  family. 

In  their  epistles  the  apostles  frequently  speak  of  the  members 
of  the  Church  as  the  "holy,"  dyiot,  set  aj)art  to  sacred  uses;  the 
"elect,"  eKXeKTol,  chosen  for  good  works  to  the  honor  of  his 
name ;  "  a  chosen  generation,"  ro  yivog  mXeKTOv ;  "  a  royal 
priesthood,"  (3aaiXeiov  legdrevna ;  "  a  holy  nation,"  edvog  ayiov 
(1  Pet.  ii,  9).  In  Antioch  they  were  first  called  "Christians," 
XQiarcavot,  that  is,  the  dependents,  the  clients  of  their  master, 
Christ.'  Their  Jewish  enemies  applied  to  them  opprobrious  epi- 
thets, as  Nazarenes,  Na^wpaZoi  (Acts  xxiv,  5) ;  Gali-  opprobrious 
leans,  TaXtXaloi,'^  expressive  of  the  low  popular  esti-  epithets. 
mate  placed  upon  the  city  and  province  where  was  the  home  of 
Christ  and  his  first  followers  (Acts  ii,  7). 


§  3.    The  Apostolate. 

While  the  institution  of  a  church  by  Christ  is  unquestionable, 
and  its  essential  nature  and  design  are  clearly  revealed,  we  search 
in  vain  in  the  acts  and  words  of  our  Lord  for  any  traces  of  an  eccle- 
siastical constitution.  He  spoke  of  a  kingdom;  he  chose  ^s  triumph  as- 
and  trained  apostles  to  preach  the  truth  pertaining  to  sured. 
it;  he  prescribed  the  conditions  of  citizenship  therein;  in  the  last 
Supper  he  provided  a  centre  of  worship,  and  of  i^ossible  future 
organization.  The  Church  shall  not  lack  an  infallible  Guide,  for 
"  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all 
truth"  (John  xvi,  13).  Nor  shall  the  kingdom  which  Christ  has 
established  fail  ;  rather  must  it  "  accomplish  that  which  he  please, 
and  it  shall  prosper  in  the  thing  whereto  he  sent  it "  (Isa.  Iv,  2). 
But  what  specific  form  it  is  to  assume  in  fulfilling  the  purpose  of 
its  institution  is  not  given  by  the  Founder  ;  no  type  of  organization 

'  The  origin  of  tliis  name  is  not  altogether  certain.  Probably  it  was  first  applied 
to  the  disciples  by  the  heathen  residents  of  Antioch.  It  is  only  in  harmony  with 
other  examples  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church,  where  a  name  that  was  at 
first  used  derisively  was  afterward  accepted  by  the  parties  themselves.  For  exam- 
ple, Beghards,  Methodists,  etc.  v.  Lipsius:  Ueber  Ursprung  u.  Gebrauch  den  Chris- 
tennametis^  Jena,  1873. 

*  The  Emperor  Julian  "  countenanced,  and  probably  enjoined,  the  use  of  tlie  less 
honourable  appellation  of  Gahleans,  .  .  .  contemptible  to  men  and  odious  to  the 
gods."     V.  Gibbon :  Decline  and  Fall,  etc.,  chap,  xxiii. 


363    ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

is  anywhere  revealed.  The  single  suggestion  relative  to  the  treat- 
ment of  offenders  seems  to  recognise  the  body  of  the  Church  as 
No  inspired  the  depository  of  all  governing  and  disciplinary  power 
form.  (Matt,  xviii,  17);  and  the  decisions  of  the  early  church, 

thus  guarded  from  eiTor  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  were  to  be  final  with 
respect  to  faith  and  morals  (Matt,  xviii,  18;  John  xx,  23;  Gal.  ii, 
7-9,  et  al.).  By  virtue  of  their  receiving  divine  enlightenment,  of 
sharing  the  divine  nature,  and  of  the  impartation  of  those  special 
charisms  by  which  they  could  discern  the  character  of  spirits,  the 
apostles  and  the  primitive  church  were  qualified  to 
bind  or  loose  {deeiv,  Xveiv),  to  remit  or  retain  (d(pievai, 
Kparelv),  the  sins  of  the  people. 

The  lack  of  a  distinct  and  thorough  organization  is  likewise 
manifest  from  the  continued  jjarticipation  of  the  apostles  and  dis- 
ciples in  the  temple  service  after  the  ascension  of  Christ.  They 
still  observed  the  Jewish  ordinances,  and  acknowledged  the  rightful 
authority  of  those  in  Moses'  seat.  While  often  meeting  by  them- 
selves to  listen  to  the  preaching  of  the  apostles,  to  pray,  and  to 
Tbe  early  con-  Celebrate  the  communion  in  the  breaking  of  bread, 
to'^the^iemn^ie  ^^^^J  nevertheless  regarded  themselves  as  still  within 
service.  the  pale  of  the  Jewish  church,  fulfilled  the  obligations 

thereby  imj^osed,  and  revered  the  temple  as  the  sanctuary  of  the 
Most  High  God. 

Notwithstanding  the  prevalence  of  the  new  spirit  of  brotherly 
love,  which  led  them  to  hold  all  things  in  common,  and  to  sell  their 
estates  and  place  the  price  in  the  apostles'  hands;  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  rapid  increase  of  the  number  of  the  disciples,  from  about 
six  hundred  at  the  date  of  the  ascension  to  five  thousand  within 
forty  days  thereafter,  there  is  no  evidence  of  an  ecclesiastical  organi- 
zation. The  apostles  appear  prominent  as  actors  in  the  history,  but 
the  spirit  of  prophecy  rests  upon  the  body  of  believers  as  well.  The 
pungent  preaching  of  Peter  is  scarcely  more  effective  than  the  ex- 
Christ  alone  ercise  of  the  varied  gifts  of  the  Spirit  bestowed  upon 
the^  iT^os^ues  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^^  women.  The  statement  that  the  multi- 
were  disciples,  tude  who  Were  converted  under  the  preaching  of  Peter 
"  continued  steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  doctrine "  (Acts  ii,  42) 
might  at  first  appear  to  clothe  the  apostles  with  the  authority 
of  original  teachers,  to  whom  the  others  stood  in  the  relation  of  dis- 
ciples [fj,a6rjrai) .  This  view  appeal's,  however,  untenable  from  the 
positive  injunction  of  Christ  himself,  "But  be  not  ye  called  Rabbi: 
for  one  is  your  master,  6  StSdoKaXo^,  even  Christ;  and  all  ye  are 
brethren,"  ol  ddeX(pot  (Matt,  xxiii,  8).  The  apostles  imposed  no  doc- 
trines of  their  own  origination  ;  they  claimed  no  power  to  found 


THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  IN  ITS  IDEA  AND  ORIGIN.       363 

schools  or  make  disciples; '  rather  were  they,  and  all  who  should  be- 
lieve on  Christ  through  their  preaching,  alike  disciples  (^ladrjTai)  of 
one  common  Master.  This  view  was  strongly  emphasized  by  Paul 
when  he  rebuked  the  Corinthian  believers  for  their  factious  attach- 
ment to  different  teachers,  thus  fostering  contention  and  dividing 
the  body  of  Christ  (1  Cor.  i,  12,  13;  iii,  4-6).  The  business  of  the 
apostles  was  not  to  make  law  for  the  Church,  nor  to  institute 
any  exclusive  form  of  ecclesiastical  constitution;  but  they  were  to 
preach  the  Gospel  as  they  had  received  it  from  their  Master,  and 
inspire  in  the  hearts  of  men  faith  in  the  doctrines  which  Jesus  had 
taught  them,  and  in  the  kingdom  which  he  had  come  to  establish 
(Matt.  X,  7,  et  seq.;  Acts  ii,  32;  iii,  15,  16;  xiii,  31;  xxvi,  22,  23; 
1  Cor.  iv,  5;  Eph.  iii,  et  al). 

The  bond  existing  between  the  early  disciples  was,  in  its  es- 
sential nature  and  purpose,  far  other  and  much  more  wide-reach- 
ing than  that  implied  in  a  "  school,"  or  "  guild;  "  it  was  best  ex- 
pressed by  the  word  "  fellowship "  (Koiviovia) ;  ^  they  being  par- 
takers of  a  like  faith  in  Christ,  which  was  the  inspira- 
tion of  all  their  activities,  and  having  a  consciousness 
of  common  citizenship  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  This  helps  us  to 
understand  the  fact  already  hinted  at ;  namely,  that  the  apostles  and 
first  disciples  did  not  wish  to  be  considered  apostates  from  the  old 
faith,  but  because  they  remained  Jews  they  regarded  themselves 
subject  to  the  local  authorities,  and  recognised  the  Sanhedrin  as  the 
supreme  court.'  A  special  and  independent  constitution  was  not 
yet  thought  of. 

The  apostolate  was  originally  instituted  as  a  means  of  extending 
the  Church  through  the  preaching  of  doctrines  which  ,j, .  .  . 
had  been  communicated  by  the  infallible  Christ  (Mark  further  nius- 
xiv,  15).  Its  original  number  corresponded  to  that  of  *''^'®^- 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  and  was,  therefore,  chosen  in  deference 
to  the  history  and  prejudices  of  the  existing  Jewish  church  (Matt, 
xix,  28;  Luke  xxii,  30).  By  careful  training  the  twelve  had  been 
fitted  to  become  the  preachers  and  custodians  of  the  truth  which 


'  "  Jesus  was  no  founder  of  a  sect.  He  had  no  desire  to  found  a  scliool ;  his 
ministry  was  directed  to  the  people  as  a  nation."  v.  Weiss:  Life  of  Christ,  Clark's 
trans.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  259,  260.  "  He  was  conscious  of  being  in  the  strictest  sense  the 
King  of  humanity,  and  of  founding  a  kingdom."  Lange:  Life  of  Christ,  Edinburgh, 
1864,  vol.  ii,  p.  188. 

■■'Compare  Acts  ii,  42  with  Gal.  ii,  9;  also  Acts  i,  13,  sq.,  reveals  the  real  bond  of 
the  first  believers,  and  the  simplicity  of  their  assembly. 

^Weizsacker:  Das  apostolische  Zeitalter  der  christlichen  Kirche,  Freiburg,  1886,  ss. 
36-38. 

24 


364    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

was  to  be  accepted  by  all  who  would  become  the  disciples  of  their 

Master.' 

The  term  "  apostles  "  was  in   familiar  use  among  the  Jews.     In 

the  various  centres  where  the  Jews  of  the  Dispersion  had  settled, 

large  sums  of  money  were  contributed  for  the  maintenance  of  the 

temple   service   at   Jerusalem ;    and   after   the    destruction    of  the 

temple  by  Titus  this  tribute  was  still  collected  by  messengers,  dnoa- 

roXoL,   sent   out  by  the  patriarch  of  Jerusalem   for  this   purpose. 

These  are  referred  to  by  the  early  Christian  writers  and  were  the 

occasion  of  legal  enactments.*'     It  has  also  been  well 
Apostles  .  ® 

known  to  the  established  that  there  was  a  Jewish  propaganda  for  the 
ewis  hurc  .  (jiggemination  of  correct  religious  knowledge  among  the 
heathen,  as  well  as  for  the  preservation  of  the  true  faith  among  the 
Jews.^  Nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  the  Christians  may  have  ac- 
cepted the  institution  of  apostles  and  their  work  from  the  then 
existing  Jewish  apostolate,  and  not  the  contrary,^  The  account 
(Acts  xi,  27-30)  of  the  work  of  Barnabas  and  Saul  in  bringing  aid 
to  the  suffering  brethren  at  Jerusalem  reminds  us  directh^  of  the 
functions  of  the  Jewish  apostles,  so  that  before  they  are  called  apos- 
tles (Acts  xiii,  14)  they  are  doing  the  identical  work  which  fell  to 
these  officers  in  the  Jewish  church.  When,  therefoi'e,  Jesus  used 
the  word  "  apostles  "  to  designate  the  disciples  whom  he  called  to  a 
special  work,  the  term  was  not  new  nor  unfamiliar  to  his  hearers.* 

By  the  spiritual  endowments  vouchsafed  to  them  in  virtue  of  be- 
ing witnesses  of  the  resurrection,  and  by  the  promised  aid  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  they  were  to  be  the  repi'esentatives  of  Christ  with  re- 
spect to  matters  of  life  and  doctrine.  They  were  to  be  overseers 
and  guides  of  no  single  society  or  diocese,  but  were  themselves  to 
be  the  pillars  of  the  whole  Church,  Christ  himself  being  the  chief 
corner-stone.  Their  work  was  peculiar,  their  relation  was  unique. 
They  were  without  predecessors;    they  were   to   have  no  succes- 

'  The  exact  time  and  circumstances  of  the  call  of  the  apostles  are  not  readily  de- 
termined, since  it  is  not  easy  to  harmonize  the  statements  of  the  Synoptists.  It  is 
very  probable  that  they  were  called  at  different  times,  as  Jesus  found  men  who  were 
judged  fit  to  be  trained  to  become  preachers  of  his  doctrine. 

"^  V.  Schiirer:  Tlie  Jewish  People  in  the  time  of  Jesus  Christ,  Edinburgh,  1885,  vol. 
ii,  pp.  269.  289.  S.  quotes  the  following  authorities;  Eusebius:  Comment  ad  Jesaj., 
xviii,  1.  Epiphanius:  Haer,  xxx,  4,  11.  Jerome:  ad  Gal,  i,  1.  Codex  Theodos., 
xvi,  8,  14. 

'v.  Hausrath:  Neutestamentliche  Zeitgesckichte,  Bd.  ii,  ss.  95,  seq.,  101,  seq.;  Shiirer: 
Op.  cit,  pp.  297-307 ;  and  the  authorities  cited  by  S.,  pp.  304,  305.  Harnack : 
Lehrhtich  der  Bogmengeschichte,  Freiburg,  1894,  bd.  i,  ss.  73-75. 

*  V.  Lightf cot :    Com.  on  Galatians,  p.  94,  note  1 . 

^v.  Seufert:  JDe?'  Ursprung  u.  die  Bedeutung  des  Aposiolates,  etc.,  s.  13. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  IN  ITS  IDEA  AND  ORIGIN.       365 

sors.'  The  preaching  of  the  word,  the  care  of  all  the  churches  and 
tlieir  grounding  in  the  truth,  the  careful  guarding  of  the  doctrine 
which  they  had  received  from  all  admixture  of  error,  the  care  of 
souls,  and  the  relief  of  the  pressing  needs  of  the  poorer  brethren 
were  the  distinguishing  features  of  the  apostolic  function. 

With  the  apostolic  age  this  function  ceased.  The  term  aj^ostle 
was  not,  however,  confined  to  the  original  twelve,  but  other  minis- 
was  extended  to  those  who  had  been  intimately  associ-  'ers. 
ated  with  them,  and  with  Paul  and  Barnabas,  in  the  extension  of  the 
Gospel  and  in  the  care  of  the  churches.  At  this  time  the  word 
seems  to  have  had  a  broader  application.  Paul  calls  Titus  and  his 
fellow  laborers  "apostles  of  the  churches,"  olttootoXoi  ekkX-tjomv, 
(2  Cor.  viii,  23) ;  and  he  speaks  of  himself,  Timothy,  and  Sylvanus, 
as  the  "apostles  of  Christ,"  d-nooToXoi  Xptorov  (1  Thess.  ii,  6);  he 
is  associated  with  Barnabas  under  the  expression,  ai/v  rolg  0,7:00x6- 
Xoig  (Acts  xiv,  4);  Barnabas  and  himself  are  equal  to  the  other 
apostles,  the  brethren  of  the  Lord  and  Cephas,  wf  koi  oi  Xonrot 
dTTooToXot  K.T.X.,  iu  matters  of  Christian  freedom  and  privilege 
(1  Cor.  ix,  5) ;  and  James  seems  to  be  reckoned  among  the  apostles, 
srepov  6e  ru)v  dnoGrdXoJv  k.t.X.  (Gal.  i,  19). 

From  these  passages,  as  well  as  from  the  statements  in  the  apos- 
tolic fathers,  and  of  the  "  Hidaxi]  twv  SdjdeKa  'AnoaroXcjv"  *  it  must 
be  inferred  that  there  was  no  strict  limitation  of  the  term  apostle  to 
the  number  of  twelve.  "The  twelve"  was  applied  to  xiie  twelve— 
the  apostles  of  the  circumcision  as  representative  of  its  signincance. 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  and  continued  to  be  the  leading  idea  in 
the  Apocalypse,  whose  whole  imagery  is  essentially  Jewish.^  Paul 
(1  Cor.  XV,  5,  7)  distinguishes,  however,  between  "  the  twelve"  and 
"all  the  apostles,"  rolg  diroaroXoig  ndoiv,  who  had  seen  the  Lord. 
His  statement  may  help  to  understand  the  ground  of  the  extension 
of  the  term  "  apostle  "  to  the  seventy  whom  Christ  had  sent  forth, 
and  to  those  who  had  seen  him  after  his  resurrection,  and  were 
therefore  competent  witnesses  to  this  vital  truth. 

While  these  various  persons  were  performing  duties  which  might 
characterize  them  as  "the  sent,"  they  were,  nevertheless,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  Jewish  Christians,  lacking  in  some  of  the  qualifica- 

'  "The  twelve,  as  the  first  preachers  of  the  Gospel  trained  by  the  Lord  for  that 
end,  occupied  a  position  in  the  Church  that  could  be  filled  by  none  that  came  after 
them.  They  were  the  foundation  stones  on  wliicli  the  walls  of  the  Church  were 
built.  They  sat,  so  to  speak,  on  episcopal  thrones,  judging,  guiding,  ruling  the 
twelve  tribes  of  the  true  Israel  of  God,  the  holy  commonwealth  embracing  all  who 
professed  faith  in  Christ."     v.  Bruce:   Training  of  the  Tivelve,  pp.  257,  258. 

2  Teaching  0/ the  Tivelve,  ch.  xi. 

^  Lightfoot :  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  p.  95. 


3GG    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

tions  essential  to  the  real  apostolate.  As  Paul  here  informs  us,  these 
had  "  seen  the  Lord,"  but  had  not  been  immediately  chosen  by 
him  for  their  work,  nor  received  from  him  special  instruction  in  the 
truth,  both  of  which  were  regarded  by  the  Christians  of  the  circum- 
cision as  among  the  peculiar  marks  of  an  apostle.     The 

other  apostles.  ,  ,.  ,  .  i  •  i    ti^     i 

persons  thus  referred  to  as  apostles,  together  with  Mark, 
Timothy,  Silas,  Apollos,  Trophimus,  and  others,  were  probably  evan- 
gelists, itinerant  preachers,'  fellow-labourers  with  "the  twelve," 
ministers  of  the  word,  or  delegates  entrusted  with  some  special  mis- 
sion to  the  churches. 

Others,  as  Barnabas,"  Manaen,  Agabus,  etc.,  were  specially  en- 
dowed with  prophetic  gifts,  and  had  the  peculiar  power  of  dis- 
cerning the  qualities  and  spiritual  condition  of  those  to  whom  im- 
portant functions  were  to  be  entrusted.  They  thus  possessed 
another  indispensable  requisite  for  an  apostle,  to  which  Paul 
appealed  in  his  conflict  with  the  Judaizing  opposers  of  his  own 
claim  to  be  of  equal  rank,  dignity,  and  authority  with  even  the 
Theflrsttestof  "  piUar  apostles,"  namely,  success  in  preaching  the  word 
apostieship.  and  in  building  up  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  (1  Cor. 
ix,  1,2).  When  this  important  test  of  the  apostolic  office  is  applied 
to  those  whom  Paul  calls  apostles,  it  may  be  safely  inferred  that 
only  by  the  Christians  of  the  circumcision  could  this  term  be  limited 
to  "  the  twelve,"  while  in  the  thought  of  those  who  had  embraced 
the  universalism  of  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  the  apostolate  was  of 
broader  scope  and  deeper  import.  This  struggle  between  narrow 
and  exclusive  limitations  on  the  part  of  the  Judaizing  sects  and  the 
Gentile  Christians  continued  in  the  second  century,  long  after  the 
death  of  the  original  twelve. 

'  It  is  interesting  to  notice  the  use  of  the  term  "apostle,"  «7r(5(Tro/lof,  in  the 
"Teaching  of  the  Twelve,"  which  probably  belongs  to  the  last  quarter  of  the  first,  or 
the  first  quarter  of  the  second  century.  He  is  a  sort  of  itinerant  preacher,  having 
less  claim  to  honour  than  the  prophet,  ivpoipijTT]^.  "  But  in  regard  to  the  apostles 
and  prophets,  according  to  the  ordinance  of  tlie  gospel,  so  do  ye.  And  every  apostle 
who  Cometh  to  you,  let  him  be  received  as  the  Lord ;  but  lie  shall  not  remain  more 
than  one  day;  if  however  there  be  need,  then  the  next  day ;  but  if  he  remains  three 
days  he  is  a  false  prophet.  But  when  the  apostle  departeth,  let  him  take  nothing 
except  bread  enough  until  he  lodge  again ;  but  if  he  ask  money  he  is  a  false  prophet." 
V.  chap.  xi. 

^  Barnabas  by  special  ordination  (Acts  xiii,  3),  and  by  intimate  association  with 
Paul  (Acts  xiv,  12;  xv,  2;  Gal.  ii,  1,  e<  a/.),  stands  specially  near  the  twelve  in  dig- 
nity and  honour. 


APOSTOLIC  CHURCH— ITS  COMPOSITION  AND  OFFICERS.   367 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  APOSTOLIC  CHURCH— ITS  COMPOSITIOX  AND  OFFICERS. 
§  1.    The  Apostles  and  Deacons. 

In  the  earliest  stage  of  the  history  of  Christianit}'-  scarcely  a  trace 
of  a  distinctive  organization  is  noticed.  The  Christian  imperfect  or- 
church,  as  sharply  distinguished  from  the  Jewish,  did  ganization. 
not  yet  exist.  Of  a  distinctive  church  office,  and  of  a  formal 
church  constitution,  there  is  as  yet  no  evidence.  The  apostles 
were,  for  the  most  part,  the  mouthpiece  and  representative  authority 
of  the  Christian  community  while  it  was  yet  one  and  undivided  at 
Jerusalem.  To  them  the  freewill  offerings  were  brought,  through 
their  word  the  first  ecclesiastical  discipline  was  inflicted  First  discipline 
in  the  death  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira.'  As  helpers  in  inflicted, 
the  performance  of  mere  manual  labor  they  appear  to  have  had 
some  younger  men,  ol  veurepoc,  of  the  company  (Acts  v,  6-10),  whose 
service  was  voluntary  rather  than  official.  This  superiority  and 
leadership,  and  the  consequent  limitations  of  the  authority  of  the 
body  of  believers,  seemed  due  rather  to  the  personal  endowments 
of  the  twelve,  their  authority  derived  from  Christ,  and  the  manifest 
success  of  their  ministry,  than  to  the  prerogatives  attaching  to  a 
specific  office'^  (1  Thess.  ii,  7-10;  1  Cor.  ix,  2;  2  Cor.  xii,  12,  etc.). 

The  large  accessions  to  the  body  of  believers,  however,  early 
brought  the  evident  necessity  for  a  more  methodical  administra- 
tion. The  diversity  of  elements  already  found  in  the  Christian 
society  occasioned  an  unequal  distribution  of  the  charities  which 
had  been  so  liberally  provided  under  the  first  impulse  of  a  new  faith 
and  experience.  To  remove  the  cause  of  complaint,  the  recommen- 
dation of  the  twelve  that  "  seven  men  of  honest  report, 
full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  wisdom"  (Acts  vi,  3),  be 
appointed  to  this  business,  resulted  in  a  division  of  labour  most  sim- 
ple and  salutary.     The  choice  of  the  "  multitude  of  the  disciples," 

'  Thiersch  calls  this  punishment  "  the  fearful  act  of  divine  ecclesiastical  disci- 
pline."    V.  Die  Kirche  ini  apostolischen  Zeitalier,  3te  Aufl.,  1879,  s.  75. 

''Among  others  v.  Bickell:  Geschichte  des  Kirchenrechts,  Frankfort,  1849,  s.  71. 
Neander:  Planting  and  Training,  etc.,  trans,  by  Ryland,  New  York,  1844,  p.  33. 
Weizsiicker:  Op.  cit,  s.  Ql\.  Lecliler:  Das  apostolische  u.  nackapostolische  Zeitalter. 
Leipzig,  1885,  s.  91. 


368    ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

"  the  whole  multitude,"  fell  upon  seven  devout  men  "  whom  they 
set  before  the  apostles;  and  when  they  had  prayed  they  laid  their 
hands  upon  them"  (Acts  vi,  6).  Such  was  the  occasion  and  such 
were  the  circumstances  of  the  institution  of  the  earliest  distinct 
class  of  officers — the  deacons.' 

While  the  terms  StaKovia,  6iaKovelv,  etc.,  are  used  both  in  the 
New  Testament '  and  by  the  early  Christian  fathers  ^  in  connection 
with  any  one  who  ministers,  it  is  likewise  applied  to  presbyters  and 
bishops,  and  even  to  the  apostles  themselves.  From  the  history 
But  one  order  given  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  no  conclusive  evi- 
at  flrst.  dence  appears  that  in  the  apostolic  Church  there  was 

more  than  one  order  of  ministers,  aside  from  the  apostles.^  While 
there  is  a  variety  of  terms,  these  are  neither  clearly  defined  nor  are 
the  duties  easily  determinable.  This  was  in  harmony  with  the 
existing  conditions  of  religious  activity  and  devotion,  and  is 
entirely  analogous  to  other  institutions  in  the  incipient  stages 
of  their  organization.  Not  until  the  second  century  is  the  term 
deacon  used  with  absolute  precision  of  reference  and  function. 
Who  were  the  Nevertheless,  when  Irengeus  ^  marks  with  definiteness  this 
deacons?  term,  he  also  insists  that  the   order  instituted  by  the 

apostles  was  identical  with  that  of  his  day.  The  almost  uniform 
traditions  sustain  this  view,  while  the  Latin  Church,  in  deference  to 
the  apostles'  institution,  long  restricted  the  number  of  deacons  in  a 
single  church  to  seven.  At  a  later  period,  when  the  organization 
of  the  Church  had  become  more  formal,  the  original  functions  of 
"  the  seven  "  were  more  clearly  limited  to  the  deacons,  until  the  in- 
stitution of  hospitals,  almshouses,  orphanages,  etc.,  transferred  to 
others  the  services  at  first  assigned  to  them. 

The  qualifications  for  this  office,  as  enumerated  by  Paul  (1  Tim. 
Gravity  of  their  iii?  8j  seq.),  are  just  of  that  nature  to  fit  them  for  min- 
functions.  gling  with  the  church  in  most  familiar  relations,  to  as- 

certain and  relieve  the  wants  of  the  poorer  members  with  delicacy, 
appropriate  reticence,  and  freedom  from  temptation  to  avaricious 
greed.  It  is  noticeable  that  gravity,  honest  words,  temperance,  un- 
selfishness, probity  in  thejnselves  and  in  their  households,  and  an 
honest  faith  outrank  "  aptness  to  teach,"  which  in  the  context  is 
said  to  be  an  indispensable  qualification  of  the  presbyter  or  bishop. 

'  While  Luke  does  not  call  the  seven  "  deacons,"  the  word  was  evidently  derived 
from  Jm/cowa,  the  distribution  of  alms,  which  was  their  original  function. 
2  Acts  i,  24;   1  Cor.  iii,  5;  2  Cor.  vi,  4:   Eph.  iii,  7,  et  al. 
^  Chrysostom :  Horn.  1  in  Phil,  i,  1,  et  al. 

*  Neander:    Op.  cit,  p.  33. 

*  Irenseus,  i,  26,  3;  iii,  12,  10. 


APOSTOLIC  CHURCH— ITS  COMPOSITION  AND  OFFICERS.  369 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that  this  office,  first  instituted  in 
Jerusalem  in  a  church  composed  almost  exclusively  , 
of  Jewish  converts,  was  also  widely  adopted  by  churches  Gentile  church- 
of  Gentile  origin.  At  Corinth  and  Rome,  likewise  in  ^^' 
the  societies  of  Asia  Minor,  are  met  those  "helps,"  dvTiX7]iljei^ 
(1  Cor.  xii,  28),  and  "ministrations,"  eire  diaKovlav  ev  ttj  dtaKovia 
(Rom.  xii,  7),  which  were  the  peculiar  duty  of  the  deacons.'  The 
office  seems  to  have  been  generally  recognized,  although  there  are 
intimations  that  it  was  not  regarded  as  absolutely  indispensable.* 
A  little  later  in  the  apostolic  period  is  noticed  a  further  provision 
for  the  more  complete  oversight  and  care  of  the  poor.  "  The 
strict  seclusion  of  the  female  sex  in  Greece  and  in  some  Oriental 
countries  necessarily  debarred  them  from  the  ministrations  of 
men;  and  to  meet  the  want  thus  felt  it  was  found  necessary  at 
an  early  date  to  admit  women  to  the  diaconate.      A 

Dg3.codgssgs 

woman  deacon  belonging  to  the  church  of  Cenchrese 
is  mentioned  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,^  .  .  .  Again  passing 
over  an  interval  of  some  years  we  find  St.  Paul,  in  the  First  Epistle 
to  Timothy  (1  Tim.  iii,  8,  seq.),  about  A.  D.  66,  giving  express 
directions  as  to  the  qualifications  of  men-deacons  and  women- 
deacons  alike."" 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  to  the  deacons  and  deaconesses  was  assigned 
primarily  the  duty  of  ministration  to  the  poor,  and  the  oversight  of 
the  temporal  affairs  of  the  Christian  societies,  yet  the  deacons 
retaining,  as  in  the  case  of  Stephen  and  Philip,  the  right  to  teach 
and  baptize.^  "  The  deacons  became  the  first  preachers  of  Christian- 
ity; they  were  the  first  evangelists,  because  they  were  the  first  to 
find  their  way  to  the  homes  of  the  poor.  They  were  the  construc- 
tors of  the  most  solid  and  durable  of  the  institutions  of  Christianity, 
namely,  the  institutions  of  charity  and  beneficence."  ^  Of  all  the 
offices  of  the  Church  the  diaconate  seems  peculiarly  ^.j^  ^j- 
Christian  in  conception  and  origin.  The  attempts  to  peculiarly 
derive  it  from  the  synagogue '  have  proved  unsatisfac-  Christian. 
tory.      The  peculiar  exigencies  of  the  early  apostolic  Church  com- 

'  V.  Liglitfoot:    The  Christian  Ministry ;  in  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Philip- 
pians,  8th  edition,  London,  1385,  p.  191. 

*  V.  Titus  i,  5,  seq. 

'  Chap,  xvi,  1.     ^oifirjv  rijv  a6Ehp7iv  yfiuv,  ovaav  dtaKovov  r^f  kKKXTjalaq  /c.r./l. 

*  Light  foot:    Op.  ciL,  id. 

*  Acts  vii  :    viii,  35-40. 

*  Stanley:    Christian  Institutions.  New  York,  1881,  pp.  210,  211. 

'  Vitringa:  de  Syn.  Vet.,  p.  885,   seq..,   especially  insists  that  the  deacon   of  the 
Christian  Church  finds  its  suggestion  in  the  chazan  of  the  synagogue. 


370    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

pelled  its  institution.  It  was  almost  entirely  independent  of  all 
then  extant  models  and  precedents,  and  in  nature  and  function  was 
original  and  unique.' 

To  their  humbler  work  of  the  administration  of  charities  were 
Tinited,  in  the  case  of  some,  at  least,  certain  spiritual  functions. 
Stephen,  a  Hellenist,  "  with  a  remarkable  depth  of  historical  per- 
spective," shocked  the  narrow  exclusiveness  of  the  orthodox  Jews 

.by  clear  intimations  that  the  temple  might  not  remain 
They      also      -^  .  '  . 

preached    the   the   center  of  the   national  worship,  but   that  the  prin- 

^°^  '  ciple  expressed  by  Christ  to  the  Samaritan  Avoman  might 

be  an  accomplished  fact  in  the  history  of  the  favored  people  (John 
iv,  21-23).  His  powerful  preaching  precipitated  a  crisis,  and  the 
disciples  "  were  scattered  abroad  "  by  the  persecution  that  followed. 
Another  of  the  seven,  Philip,  exhibited  his  broad  catholicity  of 
spirit  by  preaching  to  the  Samaritans  and  to  the  Ethiopian  eunuch. 
His  baptism  of  the  latter  also  illustrates  the  nature  and  importance 
of  the  functions  of  the  diaconate.  Added  to  distribution  of  alms 
for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  the  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel  and  the 
administration  of  baptism  are  here  connected  with  the  work  of  a 
deacon. 

The  dispersion  which  resulted  from  the  persecution  after  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  Stephen,  and  the  large  accessions  of  believers  through 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  in  other  parts  of  Judea,  in  Samaria  and  in 
Syria,  compelled  a  new  order  of  supervision.  Prior  to 
first  persecu-  this  scattering  abroad  the  distinction  between  a  simple 
^°°  congregation  of  believers  and  a  church  had  not  been  rec- 

ognised. It  was  but  natural  that  the  new  societies  should,  in  their  or- 
der and  management,  be  modeled  after  the  parent  church.  Moreover, 
no  proper  ii^  Jeri;salem  and  the  adjacent  districts  there  seems  to  have 
church.  been  a  method  of  supervision  and  government  somewhat 

similar  to  that  which  later  obtained  in  the  cathedral  churches  of 
other  great  capitals,  and  in  the  subiirban  societies.  No  sooner  does 
news  come  to  the  apostles  of  the  acceptance  of  the  Gospel  in  any 
part  than  a  delegation  is  sent  to  make  examination,  to  direct  the 
work,  and  confirm  the  believers  in  the  truth  (Acts  vii,  14,  seq.;  xi, 
22,  seq.). 

This  fact  assists  to  answer  the  question:   how  far  the  different 

'  In  this  view  Neander,  Baumgarten,  Schaff,  Baur,  Renan,  Lightfoot,  and  others 
substantially  agree.  Bohmer  supposes  that  '•  the  seven  "  had  been  elders ;  and 
with  him  Ritschl  agrees:  Altkath.  Kirche,  2te  Aufl.,  ss.  353,  seq.  Lange  holds  that 
from  "the  seven"  the  two  orders  of  deacous  and  of  elders  were  afterward  differ- 
entiated. V.  Apostolische  Zeitalter,  Bd.  ii,  ss.  73,  539,  seq.  This  is  also  the  opinion  of 
Dollinger:   Tlie  First  Age  of  the  Church,  vol.  li,  p.  111. 


APOSTOLIC  CHURCH-ITS  COMPOSITION  AND  OFFICERS.  371 

societies  of  Jewish  Christians  were  thenceforth  unified  in  what 
may  properly  be  called  "  the  Church."  A  careful  study  of  all 
the  circumstances  attending  these  visitations  will  impress  us  that 
the  various  societies  were,  to  a  large  degree,  united  in  xhere  was  a 
spirit,  life,  doctrine,  and  government.  The  apostles  had  union. 
an  oversight  and  care  of  these  as  well  as  of  the  mother  church  in 
Jerusalem.  This  is  manifest  from  their  sending  Barnabas  to  con- 
firm the  disciples  at  Antioch  (Acts  xi,  22).  True,  no  definite  proof 
is  found  in  the  history  that  this  union  was  legal,  formal,  or  ex- 
pressed through  the  appointment  of  officers,  or  by  the  adoption  of  a 
formal  constitution;  but  the  conduct  of  the  Apostles  during  their 
visitations  shows  that  by  virtue  of  their  own  personal  character, 
of  the  authority  derived  from  Christ  in  their  lirst  call  to  be  the 
leaders  of  his  Church,  and  of  a  common  spirit  that  animated  all 
believers,  there  was  a  unity  of  the  various  societies  into  xhe  church 
a  virtual  Church.'  It  is  remarkable  that  the  historian  first  organized, 
says  (Acts  ix,  31):  "So  the  Churdi,  i]  sicuXrjata,  throughout  all 
Judea  and  Galilee  and  Samaria,  had  peace,  being  edified."  ^ 

The  second  stage  in  the  development  of  the  organization  of  the 
Church  is  further  mai'ked  through  the  occupancy  by  james— his  of- 
James  of  the  chief  place  at  Jerusalem.  While  the  ^''^• 
apostles  were  absent  upon  their  missionary  journeys,  proclaiming 
the  Gospel  of  the  kingdom,  or  visiting  the  new  communities  that 
had  believed,  he  became  their  mouthpiece  or  vicar.  His  personal 
character,  as  brother  of  the  Lord,  gave  to  his  leadership  dignity 
and  authority  which  were  generally  recognised  by  the  churches  of 
Samaria,  Judea,  Galilee,  the  Phenician  coasts,  and  by  the  congrega- 
tions of  the  Dispersion.  While  he  is  never  in  the  Scriptures  called 
a  bishop,  and  while  there  is  no  evidence  of  his  special  ordination  to 
this  office,  his  functions  seem  to  have  been  very  similar  similar  to  the 
to  those  of  the  bishops  of  the  following  century ;  he  is,  later  bishop. 
therefore,  sometimes  recognised  as  the  first  bishop  of  Jerusalem.^ 
At  other  times,  however,  he  appears  as  a  member  of  a  council  with 

'Compare  Rothe:    Op.  cit.,  ss.  278,  seq.,  and  Lechler :    Op.  ciL,  ss.  86-91. 

^  The  preponderance  of  authority  is  certainly  in  favor  of  y  cKK/j/ala  rather  than 
al  kuKhjdiai.  The  New  Version  adopts  the  former  as  the  true  text.  Paul  uses  the 
plural  as  well  (Gal.  i,  22  ;  1  Thess.  ii,  14).  There  seems  a  suggestion  that  while  the 
local  congregations  retained  their  independence  there  was  a  wider  unity  and  fellow- 
ship, if  not  government,  recognised,     v.  Andover  Rev.,  Feb.,  1887,  p.  217. 

3  Rothe  :  I)ie  Anfmige  der  christlichen  Kirche,  s.  271.  Lightfoot :  77te  Christian 
Ministry,  in  Com.  on  Phil,  p.  197.  Cunningham:  The  Growth  of  the  Church,  etc., 
London,  1886,  p.  60.  "It  is  possible  his  position  may  have  'adumbrated'  the  epis- 
copate, or  even  have  done  something  toward  paving  the  way  to  it."  "  But  it  is  more 
probable  that  he  owed  this  to  his  personal  character." 


372    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

the  apostles  and  presbyters,  of  commanding  influence,  but  with  no 
official  character.^ 

§  2.  Presbyters  and  Bishops. 
In  the  apostolic  Church  are  found  other  officers  called  indiffer- 
ently TTgeafivrepoi,  presbyters,  or  elders,  and  eTriaKonoi,  bishops,  or 
overseers.  This  office  pertained  to  local  congregations,  and  was  ex- 
First  pertained  ^^"^^^^  ^,8  the  churches  multiplied  under  the  preaching 
to  local  socie-  of  the  apostles,  prophets,  and  evangelists.  In  distinc- 
"^^'  tion  from  the  deacons,  both  "  presbyter  "  and  "overseer" 

were  terms  in  common  use  by  the  Jewish  church,  by  the  heathen 
municipalities,  and  by  the  religious  clubs,  which  were  numerous 
Presbyters  throughout  the  Roman  Empire.     While  the  recoi-d  is 

common       to   silent,  it  is  nevertheless  probable  that  peculiar  exigen- 

Jewish        and      •  ly     ^        /-■,  • 

Christian  soci-  cies  of  the  Church  called    for   the  institution  of  the 

®'''^^*  presbyters,  as  had  been  the  case  in  the  choice  of  "  the 

seven."  They  first  come  into  prominence  on  the  scattering  abroad 
of  the  disciples,  and  the  withdrawing  of  the  apostles  from  Jerusalem, 
in  consequence  of  the  persecution  following  the  death  of  Stephen. 
In  the  absence  of  apostolic  advisers,  a  body  of  presbyters  is  associ- 
ated with  James  to  give  direction  to  the  affairs  of  the  Church. 
The  manner  in  which  they  are  mentioned  in  Acts  xi,  30  (rovg  ttqeo- 
(ivrepovg)  indicates  a  class  of  officials  well  known  and  established, 
and  their  connection  with  the  reception  of  gifts  for  the  poor,  in  the 
opinion  of  some,  allies  their  duties  with  those  of  the  deacons." 
They  come  into  greater  prominence  in  Acts  xv,  2,  in  association 
with  the  apostles.  These,  with  the  "  brethren,"  constitute  the  coun- 
cil to  which  Paul  and  Barnabas,  and  the  other  messengers  from  the 
society  at  Antioch,  refer  the  questions  respecting  circumcision. 
They  unite  with  the  apostles  and  the  Church  (ovv  oXxj  ry  eKK^Tjaia) 
in  sending  delegates  to  Antioch  and  other  churches, 
who  should  bear  the  decision  of  the  council  (Acts  xv, 
22,  23).  When  Paul  visits  Jerusalem  for  the  last  time,  he  be- 
takes himself  to  James,  the  president,  where  he  finds  all  the  elders 
assembled  (Acts  xxi,  18,  seq.). 

'Neither  Acts  xii,  17,  nor  xv,  13-21,  furnislies  positive  proof  of  the  presidency  of 
James,  much  less  of  a  distinctively  episcopal  function.  Acts  xxi,  18,  seg.,  and  Gal.  i, 
19  ;  ii,  9,  point  somewhat  more  clearly  to  an  official  position.  Hegesippus,  among  the 
very  earliest  of  the  writers  of  the  second  century,  does  not  call  James  a  bishop,  but 
represents  him  as  sharing  with  the  apostles  the  government  of  the  Church  at  Jeru- 
salem. Eusebius:  Hist.  Eccl.,  ii,  23,  24.  v.  Lechler:  Das  apostolische  u.  das  nach- 
apostoUsche  Zeitalter,  3te  Aufl.,  s.  83.     Ritschl:   Op,  cii.,  ss.  417,  seq. 

'This  is  one  ground  for  Ritschl's  opinion,  already  referred  to,  that  from  "tlie 
sevrn  "  and  their  fimctions  both  the  future  diaconate  and  elderate  were  diEferentiated. 
V.  Die  Entstehung  der  altkath,  Kirche,  s.  358. 


APOSTOLIC  CHURCH— ITS  COMPOSITION  AND  OFFICERS.  373 

The  presbyters  already  appear  as  the  representatives  and  directors 
of  the  society  at  Jerusalem.  Since  their  original  function  was  chiefly 
oversight  or  government,  the  Jewish  Christian  congregations  found 
in  the  Jewish  synagogue  a  model  which  they  readily  adopted,  and 
the  Gentile  churches  found  in  the  enioKOTcog  of  the  religious  clubs 
an  officer  very  similar  in  authority  and  function.  It  was  his 
duty  to  care  for  the  general  order  and  preside  at  public  delibera- 
tions. Nevertheless,  it  is  manifest  from  various  passages  in  the  Acts, 
as  well  as  from  the  epistles,  that  the  whole  Church  participated 
in  such  deliberations,  and  sanctioned  the  decisions.  In  The  entire  so- 
the  various  Jewish  communities  of  the  Dispersion,  to  l'Q*^the^deiiber^ 
which  the  apostles  first  betook  themselves  in  the  preach-  ations. 
ing  of  the  Gospel,  "  there  existed  a  governing  body  of  elders  whose 
functions  were  partly  administrative  and  partly  disciplinary.  With 
worship  and  with  teaching  they  appear  to  have  had  no  direct  con- 
cern. For  those  purposes,  so  far  as  they  required  officers,  another 
set  of  officers  existed.  In  other  words,  the  same  community  met, 
probably  in  the  same  place,  in  two  capacities  and  with  a  double 
organization.  On  the  Sabbath  there  was  an  assembly,  ^  double  func- 
presided  over  by  the  dp;;^i(7fV(zywyo5-  or  dp\;mi;vdy6jyoi,  tioQ- 
for  the  purposes  of  prayer  and  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  and  ex- 
hortation; on  two  other  days  of  the  week  there  was  an  assembly, 
presided  over  by  the  yspovoiaQxV?  or  dQxovTS<;  or  rrpeafivreQOL,  for 
the  ordinary  purposes  of  a  local  court.  Each  community,  whether 
assembling  for  the  one  class  of  purposes  or  the  other, 
appears  to  have  been  in  most  cases  independent.  .  .  .  gation  inde- 
Consequently,  when  the  majority  of  the  members  of  a  ^^"  ^^  ' 
Jewish  community  were  convinced  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  there 
was  nothing  to  interrupt  the  current  of  their  former  common  life. 
There  was  no  need  for  secession,  for  schism,  for  a  change  in  the  or- 
ganization. The  old  form  of  worship  and  the  old  modes  of  govern- 
ment could  still  go  on.  .  .  .  There  is  no  trace  of  a  break  in  the  con- 
tinuity; and  there  is  consequently  a  strong  presumption,  which  sub- 
sequent history  confirms,  that  the  officers  who  continued  to  bear  the 
same  names  in  the  same  community  exercised  functions  closely 
analogous  to  those  which  they  had  exercised  before;  in 
other  words,  that  the  elders  of  the  Jewish  communities  officers  of  ad- 
which  had  become  Christian  were,  like  the  elders  of  the  ™>°i^^'"'^^'°°- 
Jewish  communities  which  remained  Jewish,  officers  of  administra- 
tion and  discipline."  ' 

The  fact  that  the  Jewish  Christians  regarded  themselves  as  only 
a  sect  within  the  Jewish  church  cannot  be  too  much  emphasized. 
'  Hatch:    Tfie  Organization  of  the  Early  Christian  Churches,  pp.  59-61- 


374    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

They  only  recognised  Jesus  as  the  Messias,  and  were  awaiting  the 
Jewish  Christ-  time  when  all  should  receive  their  King,  and  Christ 
in"the^JewSh  ^^^^^^^^  return  to  set  up  his  universal  reign.  The  more 
Church.  thorough  examination  of  all  the  hopes  and  expectations 

of  the  Jewish  Christian  societies,  prior  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem, leads  to  the  belief  that  they  looked  upon  their  provisions  for  a 
special  service,  the  care  of  their  own  poor,  and  the  maintenance 
of  order  and  regularity  in  their  assemblies  as  something  merely 
temporary,  or  as  a  means  of  influencing  the  whole  chosen  people  to 
unite  themselves  with  the  new  kingdom  which  was  soon  to  be 
established.' 

The  function  of  this  body  of  Christian  presbyters  being  at  first 
like  that  of  the  Jewish  presbyters  in  the  synagogue,  they  must 
be  regarded  as  an  advisory  board,  whose  decisions  were  looked 
upon  with  respect,  and  whose  care  for  the  congregations  was 
The  early  type  ofiicial.  Nor  is  there  evidence  that  each  ruled  over  a 
republican.  separate  congregation,  or  over  a  section  of  the  same  con- 
gregation, without  associates.  The  monarchical  type  of  government 
which  appeared  at  a  later  date  does  not  accord  with  the  genius  of 
Not  monarchi-  the  apostolic  age.  The  elders  constitute  rather  a  free 
cai-  deliberative  body,  which  more  resembles  the  meetings  of 

the  councils  in  the  early  republics  of  Greece.  While  no  evidence 
exists  that  they  or  any  other  class  monopolized  the  right  of  spiritual 
teaching  and  edification,  they  nevertheless  so  far  directed  it  that  it 
might  be  saved  from  confusion,  and  not  degenerate  into  license  or 
into  the  inculcation  of  false  doctrine.  Thus,  while  the  apostles  and 
evangelists  were  doing  their  work  for  the  whole  Church,  the  dea- 
cons and  the  body  of  presbyters  became  the  instrument  for  the 
government  of  local  societies,  and  for  the  regulation  of  its  teaching, 
its  worship,  and  its  charities.  The  x^piana  diSaoKaXiag  being  of 
only  transient  utilitj",  the  more  permanent  and  regular  provision  was 
necessary. 

Nevertheless,  the  teaching  function  is  clearly  recognised  as  per- 
taining to  this  office.  Especially  after  the  rapid  spread  of  the  Gos- 
pel subsequent  to  the  death  of  Stephen,  when  the  apostles  were  no 
longer  able  to  superintend  the  work  in  person,  nor  give  direct  in- 
struction, the,  need  of  special  and  careful  teaching  by  the  elders 
was  felt  to  be  of  chief  importance.  Doubtless  the  customs  of  the 
synagogues  had  direct  influence  in  the  appointment  of  the  presby- 

'Lechler:  Op.  cit,  s.  93.  This  author  says  with  regard  to  the  seeming:  contradic- 
tion of  this  view  in  the  fact  of  the  fierce  opposition  of  the  Jews  to  the  Christians, 
"The  pandering  of  the  band  binding  them  to  the  theocracy  was  at  first  regarded  as 
only  possible,  next  as  desirable,  and  finally  as  necessary."  ss.  93,  94. 


APOSTOLIC  CHURCH— ITS  COMPOSITION  AND  OFFICERS.  375 

ters  in  the  Christian  societies.  Just  as  there  was  no  distinct  line  of 
demarkation  between  the  ordinary  members  of  the  synagogue  court, 
whose  chief  function  was  oversight  and  watchcare,  and  the  learned 
members,  wise  men  and  scribes,  who,  in  the  time  of  Christ,  had 
come  to  form  a  pretty  well-defined  class,  but  each  did  that  for 
which  his  peculiar  gifts  or  training  best  fitted  him,  so  in  Christian 
congregations,  chiefly  of  Jewish  origin,  there  was  no  sharp  distinc- 
tion between  the  teaching  and  governing  function,  but  a  large  lib- 
erty was  recognised,  only  that  it  be  exercised  in  obedience  to  that 
wise  law  of  spiritual  economy  inculcated  alike  by  both  the  foremost 
apostles :  "  According  as  each  hath  received  a  gift,  ministering 
it  among  yourselves,  as  good  stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of 
God."  "  But  to  each  one  is  given  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit 
to  profit  withal,  .  .  .  but  all  these  worketh  the  one  and  the  same 
Spirit,  dividing  to  each  one  severally  even  as  he  will "  (1  Pet,  iv, 
10,  seq.;  1  Cor.  xii,  7,  seq.). 

In  the  later  Pauline  writings,  especially  in  the  pastoral  epistles 
and  Ephesians,  church  oflicers  and  their  duties  are  more  fully 
treated  than  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament.  The  language  of 
the  instructions  suggests  a  more  advanced  stage  of  church  organ- 
ization than  is  implied  in  the  writings  of  Peter  or  in  the  earlier 
epistles  of  Paul,  The  simple  associations  of  the  first  believers,  per- 
vaded by  a  common  spirit,  and  realizing  the  truest  idea  of  fellow- 
ship, are,  in  these  later  writings,  instructed  as  to  the  character  and 
endowments  of  their  office-bearers  and  the  use  of  their  gifts.  The 
elders  are  here  represented  as  overseers  of  the  Church,  and  com- 
bine therewith  the  teaching  function;  but  the  distinction  between 
a  body  of  so-called  "  ruling "  elders  and  of  "  teaching "  elders  is 
not  clearly  made;  the  same  persons  are  represented  as  acting  in  this 
double  capacity  (Eph.  iv,  11;  1  Tim.  v,  17-19).  Nevertheless, 
among  the  special  qualifications  for  this  oflice,  as  enumerated  by 
Paul,  is  "aptness  to  teach"  (1  Tim.  iii,  2;  iv,  13-16;  2  Tim.  ii, 
2,24;  Tit.  i,  9,  seq.)',  and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  this  function 
became  increasingly  important  after  the  death  of  the  apostles  had 
deprived  the  Church  of  authoritative  living  teachers,  and  when  the 
prediction  of  Paul  respecting  heretical  doctrines  had  been  sadly  ful- 
filled (Acts  XX,  29,  30). 

The  origin  of  the  presbyters  in  those  churches  which  were  com- 
posed chiefly  of  Gentile  converts  is  not  so  manifest.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  it  was  spontaneous,  and  at  first  inde-  presbyters 
pendent  of  Jewish  influence.  In  the  Grieco-Roman  in  Gentile 
woi-ld  the  two  elements  peculiar  to  the  Jewish  system  ^^"^*^^®^- 
of  synagogical  government,  namely,  a  council  or  committee,  and 


376    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

seniority,  were  widely  recognised.  "Every  municipality  of  the 
empire  was  managed  by  its  curia  or  senate.  All  associations, 
political  or  religious,  with  which  the  empire  abounded  had  their 
committees  of  officers.  It  was,  therefore,  antecedently  probable,, 
even  apart  from  Jewish  influence,  that  when  the  Gentiles  who  had 
embraced  Christianity  began  to  be  sufficiently  numerous  in  a  city  to 
require  some  kind  of  organization  that  organization  should  take  the 
prevailing  form;  that  it  should  be  not  wholly,  if  at  all,  monarchical, 
nor  wholh^,  though  essentially,  democratical,  but  that  there  should 
be  a  permanent  executive  consisting  of  a  plurality  of  persons.  .  .  . 
So  strong  was  this  idea  (respect  for  seniority)  that  the  terms  which 
were  relative  to  it  were  often  used  as  terms  of  respect  without  ref- 
erence to  age.  In  the  philosophical  schools  the  professor  was 
sometimes  called  6  Trpfid/Syrepof."  ' 

It  must  not,  however,  be  forgotten  that,  during  the  missionary 
activity  of  Paul  and  his  associates  in  founding  the  churches  which 
afterward  wei'e  very  largely  composed  of  Gentile  converts,  the  first 
believers,  constituting  the  germ  of  these  churches,  were  Jewish 
Christians,  to  whom  the  government  of  the  synagogue  was  entirely 
familiar.  When  it  is  further  considered  how  carefully  Paul,  in  his 
extensive  journeys,  provides  for  the  spiritual  oversight  of  the 
churches,  for  the  discipline,  and  for  the  general  administration  of 
their  affairs;  how  he  appoints  elders  in  the  churches  of  Pisidia  and 
Lycaonia,  in  Ephesus,  Thessalonica,  Pliilippi,  Rome,  and  Colossae; 
how  he  declares  to  Titus  that  the  chief  reason  of  his  being  left  in 
Crete  was  to  "  set  in  order  the  things  that  are  wanting,  and  ordain 
elders  in  every  city  "  (Tit.  i,  5),  the  conclusion  is  almost  inevitable 
that  the  Jewish  synagogue  system  must  have  had  a  very  marked 
influence  on  the  organization  of  the  Gentile  churches. 

§  3.  Essential  Identity  of  Bisliops  and  Presbyters. 

The  essential  identity  of  presbytei's  and  bishops  in  the  apostolic 

age  is  a  matter  of  well-nigh  absolute  historic  demonstration.    "  They 

appear  always  as  a  plurality  or  as  a  college  in  one  and  the  same 

congregation,  even  in  smaller  cities,  as  Philippi.     The  same  officers 

of  the  church  of  Ephesus  are  alternately  called  presbv- 
Arsruments.  t    i  •  i  V»      i  t  •      '    ^     ^i      i  •  i     ' 

ters  and  bishops.     Paul  sends  greetings  to  the  bishops 

and  deacons  of  Philippi,  but  omits  the  presbyters  because  they  were 

included  in  the  first  term,  as  also  the  plural  indicates.     In  the  pas- 

Schafl's    sum-  toral  epistles,  when  Paul  intends  to  give  the  qualifica- 

mary.  tions  for  all  church  officers,  he  again  mentions  only  two, 

bishops  and  deacons,  but  uses  the  term  presbyters  afterward  for 

1  Hatch :    Op.  cit,  pp.  63,  0,4. 


APOSTOLIC  CHURCH— ITS  COMPOSITION  AND  OFFICERS.  377 

bishops.  Peter  urges  the  presbyters  to  '  tend  the  flock  '  of  God,  and 
to  '  fulfill  the  office  of  bishops,'  with  disinterested  devotion  and  with- 
out lording  it  over  the  charge  allotted  to  them.  The  interchange 
of  terms  continued  in  use  to  the  close  of  the  first  century,  as  is  evi- 
dent from  the  epistles  of  Clement  of  Rome  (about  A.  D.  95),  and  still 
lingered  toward  the  close  of  the  second."  '  This  is  substantially 
the  opinion  of  the  most  thorough  students  of  the  apostolic  liistor}^^ 

The  reason  of  the  use  of  two  terms  for  persons  having  the  same 
essential  functions  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion,  -^^ijy  two 
With  those  who  hold  to  the  diversity  of  the  offices  the  terms? 
ase  of  two  terms  is  but  natural  and  necessary.  To  those  who  re- 
gard these  offices  as  identical,  in  the  apostolic  age,  the  reason  for 
this  double  designation  seems  important  to  discover. 

Two  general  suggestions  have  been  made :  1.  The  term  TrpealSvTepog, 

presbyter,  has  been  claimed  to  be  of  Jewish  derivation,  and  to  have 

been  used  at  first  only  by  Jewish- Christian  cougrega- 

T  .   .  '',  ^1     •     •  T         T    1      -,       First  theory. 

tions.     In  communities  where  a  Christian   church  had 

sprung  from  the  bosom  of  the  local  synagogue,  and  was,  therefore, 
chiefly  under  the  control  of  Jewish  tradition  and  thought,  the  term 
presbyter,  which  was  the  name  of  the  governing  body  of  the  syna- 
gogue, would  be  naturally  transferred  to  officers  of  similar  function 
in  the  Christian  societies.^  It  is  likewise  true  that  the  term  'bish- 
op,' ETTLOKOTToq,  is  uscd  to  designate  one  of  like  official  duty  in  the 
churches  of  almost  exclusively  Gentile  origin.  Nevertheless,  the 
term  presbyter  was  used  by  these  same  congregations,  and  at  a 
somewhat  later  date  it  was  applied  to  the  members  of  that  govern- 
ing body  over  which  the  bishop  presided.*     2.  A  second  theoiy  is 

'Schaff:  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  New  York,  1884,  vol.  i,  p.  493.  He 
cites  the  following:  Acts  xx,  17  and  28;  Phil,  i,  1 ;  1  Tim.  iii,  1-13;  v,  17-19; 
Tit.  i,  5-7  ;  1  Pet.  v,  1,  2;  Clem.  Rom. :  Ad.  Cor.,  ec.  42,  44. 

^v.  Among  others,  Neander:  Op.  cit.,  pp.  92,  93.  Rothe :  Anfdnge  der  christlichen 
Kirche,  s.  116,  et  al.  Lightfoot:  Op.  cit.,  pp.  95-99.  Baur:  Mst.  First  Tliree  Cen- 
turies. Stanley:  Op.  cit,  chap.  x.  Hatch:  Op.  cit.,  Lects.  iii,  iv.  Dollinger:  Tlie 
First  Age  of  the  Church,  vol.  ii,  pp.  110,  111.  Kraus :  Real-Encyclopcedia  der  Christ. 
-4fert/iMmer,  art.  "  Bischof."  Weizsacker:  O^x  «<.,  ss.  637-641.  W.  says  that  they 
were  not  absolutely  identical ;  all  bishops  were  presbyters,  but  not  every  presbyter 
was  a  bishop.  Lechler:  Op.  cil,  p.  577,  seg.  "  The  elders,  Trpeff/Ji^repoz,  are  not  men- 
tioned because  in  the  earliest  Christian  period  '  presbyter '  and  '  bishop '  were 
identical." 

*  Weizsacker:  Op.  cit,  s.  628,  regards  this  transference  of  the  leadership  and  gov- 
ernment by  presbyters  from  the  Jewish  church  to  the  Christian  at  Jerusalem  as 
by  no  means  self-evident,  "  Keineswegs  eine  selfverstandliche  Sache; '"  but  there 
is  no  doubt  but  that  the  Jewish  Christian  societies  going  out  from  Jerusalem,  as  well 
as  the  Jews  of  the  Diaspora,  had  a  presbyterial  constitution,  s.  629. 

*  Lightfoot:    Op.  cit,  194. 


378    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

that  the  bishop  of  the  Christian  Church  was  analogous  in  office 

and  function  to  that  of  the  president  of  the  heathen 
Second  theory.  .   .  i  .    »   ,  n    ■,  ■        ^, 

traternities  or  clubs.     One  chief  duty  of  this  officer  was 

to  administer  the  funds  of  the  society,  and  to  be  a  medium  of  com- 
munication between  the  members  who  might  be  widely  separated. 
Christianity  was  established  just  at  a  time  when  poverty  was  wide- 
spread throughout  the  Roman  world,  and  when  government  and 
society  were  in  a  condition  of  fearful  strain.  What  the  state  could 
or  would  not  do  for  its  subjects  must  be  done  by  themselves  through 
association  for  mutual  succor  and  relief.  The  fraternities  were 
numerous  and  influential.  Their  professed  objects  were  various; 
but  into  most  of  them  there  entered  both  a  charitable  and  a  religious 
element.  To  administer  the  funds  of  these  organizations  became  a 
matter  of  primary  importance,  and  the  officer  charged  with  this  duty 
was  termed  an  ejnscopos.^ 

The  peculiar  environment  of  the  first  Christian  believers  compelled 
like  provision  for  the  exercise  of  systematic  charities.  Most  of  the 
early  disciples  were  of  the  poorer  class;  and  many  more,  upon  pro- 
fession of  the  Christian  faith,  became  outcasts  from  their  families 
and  homes.  The  strict  moralit}^  of  the  Christian  teaching  and  the 
severity  of  discipline  compelled  the  abandonment  of  trades  which 
before  had  been  highly  lucrative,  and  thus  a  measure  of  systematic 
aid  must  be  furnished  by  the  fraternity  of  believers.  The  widow, 
the  orphan,  and  the  stranger  journeying  in  foreign  parts  must  have 
issued  to  them  certificates  of  membership,  or  letters  of  commen- 
Systematic  dation,^  on  whose  authority  they  were  admitted  to 
charities.  the  sacred   mj^steries,   and  received  assistance  and  en- 

couragement. The  importance  of  this  administration  cannot  be 
overrated,  and  it  was  therefore  entrusted  to  those  best  fitted  by  in- 
telligence and  unquestioned  integrity  to  superintend  the  work.  Ac- 
cording to  this  view  the  functions  of  the  early  Christian  bishop 
were  similar  to  that  of  the  episcopos  of  the  contemporaiy  clubs  of 
the  heathen  world,  in  having  chiefly  to  care  for  the  funds  and  to 
administer  the  charities.^ 

'«.  Hatch:  Op.  cit., liQct.  ii.  His  arrrument  from  the  epigraphical  evidence  is 
original  and  striliing,  if  not  entirely  convincing.  Contra,  v.  Gore:  The  Church  and 
the  Ministry,  Second  Edition,  London,  1882.  v.  also  Harnack :  Analekten,  in  his 
translation  of  Hatch.  Heinrici:  Erklarung  der  Korinthierbriefe,  i,  Leipzig,  1879; 
ii,  Beriin,  1887.     Holtzmann:  Die  Patoralhriefe,  Leipzig.   1880. 

'^  The  custom  of  commendation  by  letters,  eTviGToAal  avaraTiKai,  is  referred  to  in  Acts 
xviii,  27,  and  2  Cor.  iii,  1-5.  The  same  practice,  dictated  alike  by  affection  and  by 
common  prudence,  also  prevailed  among  the  ancient  secular  fraternities  and  among 
tlie  powerful  guilds  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

3  Hatch :   Op.  cil.,  Lect.  ii. 


APOSTOLIC  CHURCH— ITS  COMPOSITION  AND  OFFICERS.  379 

§  4.    General  Conclusions. 

While  the  distinction  of  offices  and  functions  may  be  ascertained 
in  a  most  general  way,  it  is  manifest  that  the  character  and  duties  of 
these,  during  the  lifetime  of  the  apostles,  were  not  sharply  defined. 
The  peculiar  functions  of  the  deacons  are  at  one  time  assumed  by 
the  presbyters,  at  another  by  the  emoKorroc.  The  cir-  Duties  not 
cumstances  determine  the  behaviour  of  the  different  sharply  deflned. 
officers.  In  the  apostolic  church  are  found  germs  of  every  order 
of  the  ministry,  and  indications  of  every  form  of  church  gov- 
ernment. From  these  were  to  come  such  forms  as  the  peculiar 
providential  environment  might  most  fully  develop.  At  first  only 
those  who  were  endowed  with  special  charisms  were  entrusted  with 
the  direction  and  government  of  the  Church.'  The  gift  correspond- 
ing to  this  function  was  the  ;^dpi(7((ia  riig  Kv^egvqoeuiq  (1  Cor.  xii,  28). 

The  elders  were  charged  with  teaching,  the  preservation  of  the 

purity  of  doctrine,  the  direction  of  the  assemblies  of  the  societies, 

the   oversight   of   the   general    secular    affairs   of    the  ^^       ^    . 

°  *  ,  The    charisms 

■churches,  the  care  of  souls,  the  warning  and  encourage-  at  nrst  the 
ment  of  individual  members,  etc.  Nevertheless,  Paul  p^^p^''^"^'!- 
in  his  letter  to  the  Corinthian  church,  in  which  ecclesiastical  order 
and  the  functions  of  rulers  are  discussed  at  length,  nowhere  repre- 
sents these  as  pertaining  to  an  office,  but  i-ecognises  in  them  a  class 
of  duties  which  depend  upon  the  possession  of  special  gifts  and 
charisms.*  With  the  exception  of  his  latest  epistles  to  the  Philip- 
pians,  to  Titus,  and  to  Timothy,  he  never  mentions  deacons,  pres- 
byters, or  bishops.  Even  when  he  enumerates  the  teachers  given 
by  God  to  the  Church,  according  to  their  gradations  and  peculi- 
arities, the  names  of  deacons,  presbyters,  and  bishops  do  not  occur. 
In  so  important  a  church  as  Corinth  there  seems  to  have  been  no 
bishop,^  and  it  may  be  reasonably  questioned  whether  in  any  other 
than  the  latest  epistles  can  be  found  any  mention  of  the  office  in 
connection  with  the  Gentile  church.^  In  all  of  his  earlier  writings  he 
speaks  of  gifts  and  not  of  offices.  From  the  apostles  to  the  hum- 
blest ministers  the  ruling  thought  is  that  of  spiritual  endowments, 
and  not  of  official  functions.*     So  manifest  is  this  in  the  early  apos- 

'Baur:    Christenthum,  s.  241;  Eitschl :   Op.  cit,  s.  362. 

^Lightfoot:    Op.  cit,  p.  195. 

3  Weizsacker :  Op.  cit,  s.  638.    Bunsen:  Ignatius  u.  seine  Zeit,  s.  103.    Lightfoot: 
Op.  cit,  p.  205. 

*  Lightfoot :    Op.  cit.,  p.  1 98. 

5  Bollinger:    77;e  First  Age  of  the  Church,  vol.  ii,  pp.  104,  105.      Ritschl :    Op.  cit, 
8.  347.     Heinrici :    Kirchengemeinde  Korintlis  u.   die  religiosen   Genossenschnften  der 
Griechen  m  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  wissenschaftt  Iheologie,  1876,  s.  478. 
25 


380    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

tolic  Church  that  the  function  of  teaching  was  not  confined  to  the 
presbyters  or  bishops,  but  extended  to  the  laity  as  well,  and  in  cases 
of  extreme  necessity  the  latter  could  administer  baptism  and  cele- 
brate the  eucharist.^  Even  in  the  writings  of  John  the  bishop  is 
still  a  minister  of  the  society  and  not  a  church  official,  and  there  is 
no  evidence  of  a  distinct  ordination  or  confirmation  to  a  distinctively 
episcopal  office. 

Aside  from  the  statements  found  in  the  New  Testament,  the  first 
epistle  of  Clement  of  Rome  to  the  Corinthians  is  about  the  only 
contemporary  authority.^  In  this  letter  the  distinction  between 
No  distinction  bishops  and  presbyters  is  no  more  clear  than  in  the 
inclement.  canonical  Scrijjtures,  and  these  offices  and  their  duties 
are  generally  noticed  as  synonymous.^  No  priestly  authority  or 
function  is  delegated  to  them.  They  are  in  the  strictest  sense  min- 
isters and  stewards  appointed  to  teach,  to  preach,  and  care  for 
the  disci2)line  and  charities  of  the  local  churches.  No  irresponsible 
or  sovereign  authority  is  attached  to  their  office,  but  the  body  of 
believers  is  the  real  depositary  of  power.'' 

Nor  is  there  a  trace  of  the  subordination  of  one  bishop  to  another, 
any  more  than  in  the  apostolic  college  a  primacy,  aside  from  personal 
character  and  influence,  is  found.  While  in  the  pastoral  epistles 
(v.  1  Tim.  V,  17,  19,  20)  there  seems  to  be  a  slight  tendency  to 
centralization,  and  the  idea  of  a  special  office  is  somewhat  more 
clearly  developed,  it  may,  nevertheless,  be  regarded  as  historically 
certain  that  prior  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  the  officers  of  the 
Church  and  their  functions  were  not  fully  differentiated,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  a  great  diversity  of  practice  and  a  plastic  condition  of 
church  government  were  prevalent  throughout  the  empire. 

'Hatch:  Op.  cit,  p^p.  117-119.  "In  regard  to  baptism  there  is  no  positive  evi- 
dence, but  there  is  the  argument  a /orfe'on  which  arises  from  the  fact  that  oven  in 
later  times  .  .  .  baptism  by  an  ordinary  member  of  the  church  was  held  to  be 
valid,"  etc. 

"^  The  chronology  of  the  Aidaxr/  is  not  so  satisfactorily  determined  as  to  make  it 
a  strictly  original  authority  for  the  history  of  the  apostolic  church. 

^v.  cc.  42-44. 

^Bannerman:  The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  the  Church,  Part  vi,  chap,  iv,  seems  toe 
strongly  to  insist  on  a  settled  and  fixed  ecclesiastical  system  in  the  Corinthian  church 
during  the  second  period  of  apostolic  Church  history.  Such  condition  of  this  church 
in  a  distinctively  presbyterial  form  of  government  is  demonstrable  neither  from  the 
Pauline  enistles  nor  from  the  letter  of  Clement  of  Rome. 


THE   POST-APOSTOLIC   CONSTITUTION.  381 


CHAPTEE  III. 

THE    POST-APOSTOLIC    CONSTITUTION   FROM    THE    DESTRUCTION   OP 
JERUSALEM  TO  IREN^US. 

§  1.  Influence  of  the  Death  of  the  Apostles  and  of  the  Destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

Such  seems  to  have  been  the  condition  of  the  Church  and  of 
church  government  for  the  first  forty  years  after  the   , 

o  ''    *'  Importance   of 

Ascension.  The  death  of  the  apostles,  and  especially  the  the  destruction 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  were  most  moment-  of  Jerusalem, 
ous  events  in  the  history  of  Christianity.'  They  were  scarcely  less 
transforming  to  the  Christian  than  to  the  Jewish  church.  If  the 
Jewish  polity  was  thoroughly  destroyed  and  the  hope  of  a  temporal 
supremacy  perished,  the  separation  of  Jewish-Christian  from  Gen- 
tile-Christian churches,  which  had  before  been  so  prominent,  largely 
disappeared. 

During  their  lifetime  the  apostles  had  been  the  jealous  guard- 
ians of  the  purity  of  Christian  doctrine  and  the  defenders  of  Chris- 
tian discipline.  There  had  been  a  general  acquiescence  in  this 
apostolic  authority,  and  the  extraordinary  spiritual  enlightenment 
conferred  upon  the  body  of  believers  had  measurably  saved  them 
from  the  destructive  influence  of  the  heresies  which  afterward 
threatened  not  only  the  unity  but  the  success  of  the  Church.  The 
destruction  of  the  sacred  city  hastened  the  consummation  of  what 
had  been  felt  by  all  parties  to  be  a  pressing  need;  namely,  the  union 
of  the  individual  societies  into  a  firm,  compact  organization  in  the 
Christian  Church.  This  event  emancipated  the  disci-  scattered  the 
pies  from  the  burdens  of  the  Jewish  ceremonial;  it  re-  apostles, 
vealed  Christianity  to  the  pagan  world  as  an  independent  religion; 
it  completely  fused  the  hitherto  inharmonious  Jewish  -  Christian 
and  Gentile-Christian  elements;*  it  scattered  believers  still  more 
widely  throughout  the  Roman  world. 

But  when  the  original  preachers  and  defenders  of  Christ's  gospel 
had  been  removed,  the  heresies  which  were  lying  latent,  Emancipated 
or  had  been  checked  in  their  first  beginnings  by  the  the  Church 
watchful  administration  of  the  apostles,  soon  began  to      prejudices.'' 

'  For  a  striking  popular  statement  of  the  efifects  and  the  probabiUties  see  Renan : 
Hibhert  Lectures,  Boston,  1880,  III  Conference. 
"^  Rothe:    Op.  cit,  ss.  340-343;  Ewald:  vii,  26. 


382    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

assert  themselves  more  vigorously,  and  to  draw  away  multitudes  from 
the  Church.  The  lack  of  apostolic  guidance  was  now  felt  to  be  a 
most  serious  privation.  The  absence  of  an  authoritative  interpre- 
tation left  each  teacher  free  to  attach  to  the  Scriptures,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  instructions  of  the  apostles,  the  meaning  which  best 
accorded  with  his  own  peculiar  dogmas.  The  instinct  of  self- 
preservation  compelled  a  readjustment  of  ecclesiastical  supervision 
and  government.  From  the  closing  years  of  the  first  century 
new  principles  are  recognised,  and  influences  before  hardly  no- 
ticeable become  prominent.  While  during  the  lifetime  of  the 
apostles  there  had  been  a  ministry  of  Christ's  own  institution,  in 
the  second  century  the  distinction  between  clergy  and  laity  is 
more  manifest;  the  priestly  function,  which  before  had  pertained 
to  the  entire  body  of  believers, becomes  circumscribed;'  the  duties 
of  the  deacons  and  presbyters  are  more  clearly  defined;  the  exist- 
ence and  prerogatives  of  the  bishops  as  a  distinct  order  become  more 
„  ,         crenerallv  recognised.     Admission  to  a  sacred  order  is 

Compelled      a,    o  y  o 

more  compact  now  gained  by  the  solemn  rite  of  consecration  or  ordi- 
organizatiou.  j^^^^^j^^  There  are  now  found  in  the  Church  orcUnes 
majores  and  ordines  minores,  each  having  a  more  clearly  defined 
function. 

Thus  in  the  brief  interval  between  the  death  of  the  apostles  and 
the  middle  of  the  second  century  the  idea  of  the  Church  had  under- 
gone important  transformations,  and  the  orders  and  duties  of  its 
officers  had  become  subjects  of  clearer  definition.  The  believers  on 
Christ  passed  from  the  condition  of  individual  congregations  to 
that  of  an  organized  Church. 

§  2.   The  Ignatian  Episcopacy  and  its  Effects. 

Ignatius  is  the  earliest  writer  who  develops  this  new  notion  of 
Functions  of  church  order  and  discipline.  He  defends  the  essential 
the  bishop.  unity  of  the  Church,  to  maintain  which  obedience  to 
the  doctrines  and  authority  of  the  bishops  is  necessary.  Look  to 
the  bishop  that  God  may  also  look  on  thee.''      Plainly  we  should 

'  The  idea  of  the  universal  priesthood  of  believers  did  not  wholly  disappear.  In- 
deed, it  is  rigorously  asserted  by  Irenseus  {Adv.  Hcer.,  iv,  8,  §  3).  The  Montanists 
were  most  strenuous  in  their  advocacy  of  this  doctrine,  and  Tertullian  {De  Exhort. 
Cast.,  c.  7 ;  De  Bapt.,  17)  affirms  that  it  is  the  authority  of  the  Church  alone  that 
has  created  the  distinction  between  laity  and  clergy.  Even  the  high-church  Cyprian 
uses  expressions  which  suggest  that  the  body  of  believers  is  the  true  source  of 
ecclesiastical  authority  (ep.  41,  8).  The  mode  of  the  election  of  Athanasius,  Am- 
brose, Augustine,  and  others  in  the  fourth  century  illustrates  the  power  of  the  laity. 

"  Ad  Pobjc,  cc.  5,  6. 


THE   POST-APOSTOLIC   CONSTITUTION.  383 

regard  the  bishop  as  we  regard  the  Lord  himself.'  Be  subject  to 
the  bishop  and  to  one  another,  as  Christ  to  the  Father,  in  order 
that  there  may  be  unity  according  to  God  among  you.^  Without 
the  bishop  let  no  one  attempt  any  thing  in  the  Church.  Let 
that  sacrament  be  accounted  valid  which  is  under  the  direction 
of  the  bishop  or  one  whom  he  has  appointed.  Without  the  bishop 
it  is  not  permitted  either  to  baptize  or  to  celebrate  the  agape.' 
Where  the  bishop  is,  there  is  the  congregation,  as  where  Christ  is, 
there  is  the  catholic  Church.*  This  strong  characterization  of  the 
episcopacy  is  in  most  direct  contrast  with  the  spirit  of  the  New 
Testament  teaching.  Yet  it  is  likewise  to  be  observed  that  the 
episcopacy  of  Ignatius  is  strictly  congregational.  The  bishop  has 
no  authority  outside  of  and  beyond  his  individual  congregation,  in 
which  alone  he  is  the  vicar  of  Christ,  as  well  as  an  equal  to  every 
other  bishop  of  every  other  congregation:  no  trace  of  subordination 
or  primacy  appears  in  these  epistles. 

Nevertheless,  Ignatius  distinguishes  the  bishops  from  the  presby- 
ters, inasmuch  as  the  former  are  the  successors  of  Christ,  Distinction  in 
while  the  latter,  on  the  contrary,  are  the  vicars  of  the  origin, 
apostles.^  The  institution  of  the  bishops  is,  according  to  his  view,  not 
the  work  of  the  apostles,  but  a  commission,  evToXr],  or  grace,  ;:^apt?, 
of  God,  while  the  presbyters  owe  their  origin  to  the  decree  or  sanc- 
tion, vofioq,  of  Jesus  Christ.^  Inasmuch  as  the  episcopacy  connects 
the  individual  churches  with  the  Church  universal,  at  whose  head 
Christ  stands,  it  thereby  becomes  the  organ  of  church  unity.''  In 
nearly  all  these  letters  of  Ignatius  the  threatening  dangers  to  the 
Church  from  the  current  heresies  are  revealed.  They  contain  warn- 
ings, exhortations  to  concord,  and  to  a  close  affiliation  with  the  bish- 
ops, the  presbyters,  and  the  deacons,  since  thus  alone  can  the  unity 
of  the  Church  be  best  maintained.^  Yet  Ignatius  plainly  teaches 
that  while  the  congregation  should  undertake  nothing  without  the 
bishop,  no  more  should  the  bishop  without  the  will  of  God.  The 
ordinances  of  the  bishop  are  valid  only  so  far  as  they  are  accordant 
with  the  divine   will.'      Nevertheless,  from  the  very  nature   and 

■  ad  Ephes.,  c.  6.  ^  ad  Magnes.,  c.  13.  ^  ad  Smyrn.,  c.  8 

*  Ep.  ad  Phllad..  c.  3,7;   Smyrn.,  c.  8,  9,  d  al.     v.  also  Baur :  Das   Chrisienthum, 
etc.,  2te  Ausg.,  Tubingen,  1860,  ss.  277-279. 

*  ad  Smyrn.,  c.  8  ;  ad  Ephes.,  c.  2  ;  ad  Polyc,  c.  6.  ^  ad  Magnes.,  c.  2. 
''  ad  Philad.,  c.  3  ;  ad  Smyrn.,  c.  8.  *  ad  Smyrn.,  c.  8. 
^Compare  especially   ad  Smyrn.,  c.   8,   and  Rothe:    Op.  cit,   s.  445;  Uhlhorn: 

Ueher  die  Ignatianischen  Briefe,  in  Ilgens  Zeitschrift,  Bd.  21,  s.  282.  Ritschl :  Entste- 
hung  der  altkatholischen  Kirche,  Bonn,  1857,  s.  455;  and  best  of  all,  Lightfoot:  The 
Apostolic  Fathers :  Part  ii,  St.  Ignatius  and  St.  Polycarp. 


384     ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

dignity  of  the  episcopate,  it,  before  all  other  offices,  lays  claim  to 
obedience  on  the  part  of  the  societies.' 

§  3.    The  Clementine  Homilies. 

As  we  pass  from  the  Ignatian  epistles  to  the  pseudo-Clementine 
The  monarchi-  Homilies,  which  were  probably  written  from  fifteen  to 
cai  episcopacy,  twenty  years  later,  there  is  a  yet  stronger  claim  for  the 
dignity  and  authority  of  the  bishop's  office.  The  episcopacy  of 
these  writings  is  of  the  high  monarchical  type.  The  bishop  has 
power  to  bind  and  loose.  He  stands  in  the  place  of  Christ;'  the 
presbyters  and  deacons  are  subordinate  to  him. 
Bishops  the  Here,  too,  the  episcopate  is  represented  as  the  suc 
successors  of  cession  to  the  apostolate,  and  the  bishops  are  the 
the  apostles.  guardians  and  depositaries  of  the  apostolic  doctrine. 
As  usual  in  Ebionitic  writings,*  James  is  the  bishop  of  bishops, 

'  The  importance  of  the  testimony  of  Ignatius  is  manifest  from  the  protracted  con- 
troversy respecting  the  genuineness  and  integrity  of  his  writings.  Scarcely  less 
earnest  than  that  over  the  genuineness  and  authority  of  the  Gospel  by  John,  the 
Ignatian  question  stiU  remains  an  open  one.  An  important  literature  has  resulted 
from  these  scholarly  researches.  There  are  three  versions  of  the  writings  of  Igna- 
tius, namely:  1.  The  longer  Greek  recension,  consisting  of  seven  epistles  and  eight 
additional  ones.  2.  The  shorter  Greek  recension,  referred  to  by  Eusebius,  consisting 
of  seven  epistles.  3.  The  Syriac  version,  discovered  in  a  monastic  library  in  the 
Libyan  desert  in  1839-1843,  containing  but  three  of  the  seven  epistles  of  the  shorter 
Greek  recension,  and  these  in  very  abbreviated  form.  Of  the  first  it  may  be  said 
that  the  added  eight  epistles  are  now  regarded  as  forgeries.  Respecting  the  second 
and  third  the  scholars  are  divided.  The  Tiibingen  school  reject  the  entire  Ignatian 
literature  as  spurious;  another  class  accept  only  what  is  common  to  the  shorter 
Greek  and  to  the  Syriac  recensions;  while  the  tendency  to-day  is  to  hold  to  the 
genuineness  of  the  shorter  Greek  recension  and  to  regard  the  Syriac  version  as  es- 
sentially an  extract  from  the  older  Greek.  The  most  satisfactory  examinations  and 
defence  of  the  shorter  Greek  recension  are  Zahn :  Ignatius  von  Antiochien,  Gotha, 
1873 ;  also  his  Ignaiii  et  Polycarpi  Epistulce  Martyria  Fragmenta,  in  the  Patrum 
ApostoHcorum  Opera,  Fasciculus  ii,  Lipsife,  1876;  Uhlhorn:  Article  "Ignatius,"  in 
2d  ed.  of  Herzog's  Real  -  Encykl. ;  and  Lightfoot:  The  Apostolic  Fathers:  Part 
ii,  St.  Ignatim  and  St.  Polycarp,  London,  1885.  Lightfoot  formerly  accepted  the 
Syriac  version,  but  in  this  later  work  regards  the  shorter  Greek  version  as  defen- 
sible. The  importance  of  this  controversy  appears  from  the  different  grounds  of 
the  bishop's  authority  in  the  two  later  recensions.  In  the  Syriac  version  his 
exercise  of  leadership  and  discipline  is  derived  solely  from  his  personal  worthiness; 
according  to  the  shorter  Greek  recension,  by  virtue  of  his  ofBce  alone  the  bishop 
has  the  power  to  exercise  priestly  teaching  and  ruling  functions.  In  the  Greek 
recension  the  will  of  the  bishop  has  unconditional  validity,  while  in  the  Syriac  his 
will  must  harmonize  with  the  divine  will  in  order  to  claim  obedience. 

^  Ep.  ad  Jacob.,  c.  14,  hom.  iii,  62. 

^This  expression  is  here  used,  notwithstanding  the  opposing  views  of  able  critics. 
Like  much  of  the  early  Patristic  literature,  the  Clementines  have  given  rise  to  much 


THE   POST-APOSTOLIC   CONSTITUTION.  385 

6  eniOKOTro^  rwv  eTnoiconojv,^  to  whom  even  Peter  is  subordinate, 
and  Jerusalem  is  the  capital  of  Christendom,  In  the  pseudo- 
Clementines  is  first  met  the  expression,  "  the  chair  or  seat  of  the 
bishop,"  Kadedpa  tov  emaKonov,  which  denotes  the  high  dignity 
of  the  bishop  and  his  relation  to  the  presbyters,  so  changed  from 
the  New  Testament  idea.  To  the  bishop  specially  belongs  the 
promulgation  of  doctrine,  while  to  the  presbyters  is  assigned  the 
preaching  of  ethical  truths.^  The  duty  of  Church  discipline  is  so 
divided  that  the  bishop  and  the  presbyters  exercise  judicial  func- 
tions, while  the  deacons  are  charged  with  the  duty  of  careful 
scrutiny  of  the  conduct  of  the  members.  The  bishop  Arbiter  of  doc- 
exercises  rule  over  the  society  and  is  arbiter  of  doc-  trines. 
trine,  while  the  presbyters  are  his  assistants  in  the  maintenance 
of  moral  conduct.  The  care  for  the  poor  is  shared  by  the  bishop 
and  the  deacons.  In  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  the  purpose  of  the 
institution  of  the  episcopate  was  the  restoration  of  the  unity  of  the 
Church,  and  the  reconciliation  of  the  conflicting  parties.  This  recon- 
ciliation was  to  be  effected  by  the  triumph  of  the  Ebionite  party, 
whose  peculiar  views  of  the  episcopacy  became  at  last  predominant 
in  the  Christian  Church.'  The  conception  of  the  episcopacy  com- 
mon to  the  Ignatian  epistles  and  pseudo-Clementines  is  that  the 
bishop  is  the  vicar  of  God  and  Christ.  The  same  substantial  unity 
existing  between  God  and  Christ  is  the  relation  which  exists 
between  the  bishop  and  Christ;  for  as  Christ  is  the  hypostatic  will 
of  God,  so  should  the  bishop  be  the  hypostatic  will  of  Christ."* 

§  4.    The  Shepherd  of  Hennas  and  Polycarp. 

The  Shepherd  of  Hermas  and  the  epistle  of  Polycarp,  Bishop  of 
Smyrna,  belong  to  a  date  intermediate  between  that  of  the  Ignatian 
epistles  and  the  pseudo-Clementines.  These  are  important  as  illus- 
trations of  the  principle  that  not  only  the  episcopate  but  the  entire 
polity  of  the  Christian  Church  was  a  development  out  pjgtiQgtion  ^e- 
of  the  peculiar  needs  of  the  times.  In  the  "  Shepherd  "  tween  lay  and 
mention  is  made  of  apostles,  bishops,  doctors,  and  dea-  '''^™^'- 
cons.     While  the  term  doctors  is  somewhat  obscure  in  import,  the 

varied  controversy  and  the  results  have  not  proved  entirely  satisfactory  to  any 
parties.  The  candid  statement  of  one  of  the  most  scholarly  of  these  investigators, 
after  a  criticism  of  the  different  opinions,  seems  entirely  truthful.  "  Undoubtedly 
the  questions  of  the  Clementines  need  even  yet  a  further  discussion."  v.  Ulhorn; 
Article  "  Clementinen,"  in  Herzog's  Beal-Encijklopddie,  Bd.  iii,  s.  286. 

'  Ep.  ad  Jacob.,  suprascriptio.  ^  Ep.  ad  Jacob.,  Horn,  iii,  65. 

^  V.  especially  Baur:    Ursprung  der  Episcopats,  Tiibingen,  1838,  ss.  122,  148,  et  al. 

*  V.  Baur:  Das  Christenthum,  etc.,  s.  283. 


386    ARCHiEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

bishops  are  no  longer  identical  with  the  presbyters,  and  the  lay 
function  is  distinct  from  the  clerical.' 

Polycarp's  letter  falls  in  just  that  period  when  a  number  of  Phil- 
ippian  churches  had  preserved  their  autonomy,  and  hence  the  devel- 
opment of  the  monarchical  episcopacy  was  yet  incomplete.  There 
are  evidences  of  a  vigorous  organization,  and  the  officers  of  the 
Church  are  I'ecognised  as  clothed  with  authority  to  exercise  their 
functions;  for  he  strongly  exhorts  the  believers  to  be  obedient  to 
the  presbyters  and  deacons  as  to  God  and  Christ,  wf  dew  km  Xqlgtco.' 

From  the  manner  in  which  the  term  presbyter  is  here  used,  it  has 
been  argued  that  Polycarp  recognised  the  identity  of  bishops  and 
presbyters.^  By  some  this  passage  has  been  construed  to  teach  "the 
supreme  oversight  of  the  presbyters  in  all  matters  of  administra- 
tion," *  while  others  have  from  it  inferred  the  absence  of  bishops 
from  the  Philippian  church.^  Whatever  may  have  been  the  facts, 
it  seems  certain  that  in  the  teaching  respecting  the  exalted  position 
which  is  assigned  to  the  bishop  there  is  not  yet  found  the  concep- 
tion of  a  church  office  in  that  specific  sense  which  later  obtained. 
When,  therefore,  in  the  Ignatian  epistles  the  expression  is  met, 
,  ,.       "where  the  bishop  is  found  there  is  the  congregation. 

No    catholic  .        .  .  . 

Church  yet  even  as  where  Christ  is  there  is  the  catholic  Church," 
existing.  there  is  manifestly  wanting  to  the  idea  of  the  catholic 

Church  an  element  which  was  supplied  in  the  next  century,  namely, 
that  of  unified  doctrine.  In  the  absence  of  this  factor  there  could 
properly  be  no  officer  of  the  catholic  Church,  and  in  the  writings  of 
The  bishop  the  the  first  half  of  the  second  century  the  bishop  bears  only 
unifying  power,  the  character  of  a  ruler  of  the  congregation.  Never- 
theless, by  the  extension  of  this  office  over  all  congregations,  the 
episcopate  becomes  the  instrument  of  the  unification  of  the  Church. 
This  was  to  be  effected  both  by  correspondence  between  the  soci- 
eties, and  by  conferences  or  synods  of  the  bishops  themselves.  The 
first  was  only  in  imitation  of  the  custom  of  the  apostles,  and  was  a 
most  natural  means  of  fostering  the  spirit  of  unity  and  of  conserv- 
ing a  common  doctrine.     The  catholicity  of  the  Church  was  further 

promoted  by  giving  certificates  of  Church  membership 

Church  letters.    ^  -^   o         o  r 

or  commendation,  ypafifjiaTa  rervnojiniva,  to  those  who 

were  travelling  into  foreign  parts,  by  means  of  which  the  bearer 

was  admitted  to  the  sacraments  and  privileges  in  other  societies. 

They  were  also  proofs,  ypdnnara  KoivoiviKa,  of  the  agreement  and 

fellowship  of  the  bishop  who  gave,  with  him  who  received  them. 

'  Pastor;  Vi«.  iii,  5,  6.  2  Epist  ad  Phil,  c.  5. 

2  V.  especially  Ritschl :    Op.  ciL,  s.  402;  Hase:  KirchengeschicMe,  s.  42. 

^  Hatch:    Op.  cit,  p.  67.  *  Bunsen:  Ignatius,  s.  109. 


THE   POST-APOSTOLIO   CONSTITUTION.  387 

Added  to  all  this  was  the  custom  of  each  society  to  inform  every 
other  of  all  important  affairs  of  its  communion,  and  of  each  bishop 
to  publish  to  every  other  bishop  the  fact  of  his  election  and  conse- 
cration, that  he  might  in  turn  receive  the  assurance  of  their  approval 
and  cooperation. 

It  has  already  been  seen  that  the  apostolic  Church  recognised  no 
priestly  function  or  authority  on  the  part  of  its  minis-   „      .   ^ 

I  J  J  1  No  pnest  recog- 

ters  of  any  kind  or  grade.  The  New  Testament  teach-  nised  by  tbe 
ing  that  the  whole  body  of  believers  are  priests  unto  '^p°^'''®^- 
God,  and  that  one  alone,  Christ,  is  the  Highpriest,  making  offering 
of  himself  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  is  clear  and  unquestioned 
(1  Tim.  ii,  5;  Heb.  iii,  1;  v,  10;  ix,  11,  et  al).  This  continued  until 
after  the  destruction  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  That  epoch- 
making  event  marks  the  introduction  into  the  Christian  Church  of 
two  new  ideas  which  were  familiar  alike  to  Judaism  and  to  the 
Gentile-Christian  churches;  namely,  the  idea  of  an  offering  or  sacri- 
fice, and  the  idea  of  a  priesthood.  These  correlative  notions  were 
not  foreign  to  the  Gentile-Christian  congregations.  They  had  been 
converted  from  a  religious  system  which  was  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  thought  and  practice  of  sacrifice,  and  of  a  priesthood 
whose  functions  included  the  care  of  the  offerings.  The  smoking 
or  garlanded  altar,  the  procession  leading  the  victims.  Rise  of  sacer- 
and  the  ofiiciating  priests,  were  most  familiar  sights  in  dotaiism. 
every  province  of  the  Roman  Empire.  True,  this  priestly  function 
in  the  Church  was  not  that  strong  and  complete  sacerdotalism 
which  was  victorious  in  the  following  centuiy;  but  the  references 
to  the  priestly  office  of  the  bishop  are  now  more  frequent.  While 
not  exclusive  or  absolute,  it  is  evident  that  even  the  partial  and 
limited  recognition  of  the  priestly  office  of  the  bishop  may  be 
regarded  as  among  the  most  important  facts  in  the  history  of 
Church  government  and  worship  in  the  second  century.  The  effect 
was  to  limit  the  spiritual  authority  of  the  presbyter.  While  he 
might  baptize,  yet  the  complete  endowment  of  faith  rested  with 
the  bishop ;  the  bringing  of  the  eucharistic  offering  was  only  by  epis- 
copal sanction;  the  institution  of  the  clergy  by  ordination,  and  the 
confirmation  of  the  baptized,  were  the  exclusive  prerogatives  of  the 
bishops.     They  were  entrusted  with  the  oversisrht  of  the 

Its    GffGCtS 

clergy;  they  were  the  shepherds  of  the  flock,  who  were 
to  teach  the  ignorant,  lift  up  the  fallen,  and  punish  the  incorrigible. 
The  presbyters  were  the  governing  body  or  council;  teaching  was 
at  first  not  their  necessary  or  even  usual  function.  The  Clementine 
writings  make  a  distinction  between  doctrine  and  morals — the  bishop 
teaching  the  former,   the    presbyters   enforcing   the    latter.      The 


388    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

archaic  document,  ^idaxf)  tCjv  du)6eKa  'AttocttoAwv,  "  The  Teaching  of 

the  Twelve  Apostles,"  which  seems  to  be  firmly  placed  in  the  first, 

or  early  part  of  the  second  century  (95-130),  speaks  of  a  more  simple 

condition  of  things.     Yet  the  representations  of  the  functions  of 

Church  ofticers   are  not  in   contradiction  with  those   already  de- 

,     scribed.     The  apostles  and  prophets  are  only  itinerant 
The   view  of  ^  ^      ^  *; 

"The  Teach-    preachers  who  are  to  tarry  but  a  day  or  two  in  a  place, 

^^^'  to  receive  sustenance,  but  not  money,  except  for  gen- 

eral charities.  The  genuineness  of  the  apostle's  teaching  function  is 
to  be  judged  by  his  conformity  to  his  own  doctrines.'  The  Church  is 
instructed  to  appoint  for  itself  ^  bishops  and  deacons  worthy  of  the 
Lord,  men  meek  and  not  avaricious,  and  sincere  (dXrjdeli^)  and  tried. 
Such  are  worthy  of  honour  for  their  works'  sake. 

§  5.    Tlie  Fcn'm  of  Government. 

The  ecclesiastical  government  which  generally  prevailed  by  the 

.  middle  of  the  second  century  was  that  of  the  indepen- 

A    congrega-  _  -^  i 

tionai  episco-  dent  congregation,  governed  by  a  college  of  presbyters, 
P^*^^"  whose  president  was  the  bishop,  and  whose  servants  or 

ministers  were  the  deacons.  Each  congregation  had,  therefore,  its 
separate  bishop,  its  own  governing  body,  its  ministering  servants, 
and  its  private  members.  At  each  gathering  every  element  of  this 
congregation  was  theoretically  present,^  and  the  whole  body  were  the 
depositary  of  power  and  authoritative  government.  The  pi'esence 
of  a  bishop  in  each  congregation  explains  how  at  first  the  teaching 
power  of  the  presbyter  was  limited,  and  the  celebi'ation  of  the  sacra- 
ments of  baptism  and  of  the  eucharist  was  practically  confined  to  the 
bishops,  although  the  presbyter  had  from  the  first  the  right  to  bap- 
tize, and  probably,  also,  the  authority  to  celebrate  the  eucharist.* 

The  change  of  opinion  respecting  the  endowments  required  in  an 
office-bearer  is  important  to  mention.     As  before  said,  in  the  apos- 

'  V.  Chap,  xi,  "But  not  every  one  who  speaketh  in  the  spirit  is  a  prophet,  but  only 
if  he  have  the  ways  of  the  Lord.  .  .  .  And  every  prophet  who  teacheth  the  truth,  if 
he  do  not  that  which  he  teacheth,  is  a  false  prophet." 

"^  V.  Chap.  XV.  The  expression  x^^P^'''ovf]aaTe  ovv  iavrolg  eTricKd-rrovc,  etc.,  is  vari- 
ously translated.  If  this  writing  is  earlier  than  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  the 
term  x^^foroveu,  in  agreement  with  its  general  meaning  in  the  New  Testament,  in 
Josephus,  and  in  the  Ignatian  epistles,  should  be  translated  "  appoint."  But  if  it  is 
believed  to  belong  to  the  third  century,  the  word  would  naturally  follow  the  changed 
meaning  in  the  "Apostolic  Canons"  and  iu  the  "Apostolic  Constitutions,"  and  be 
translated  "  ordain  by  laying  on  of  hands." 

^  V.  Hatch:   Op.  cit,  p.  79. 

*  This  certainly  is  the  view  maintained  a  Utile  later  by  TertuUiau  in  the  Monta- 
nistic  controversy. 


THE   POST-APOSTOLIC   CONSTITUTION.  389 

tolic  Church  men  held  office  and  performed  duties  by  virtue  of 
certain  spiritual  gifts,  or  charisms.  The  body  of  believers  hon- 
oured and  obeyed  them  because  of  these  gifts,  which  were  believed 
to  be  bestowed  by  the  Spirit  for  definite  purposes.  About  the 
middle  of  the  third  century,  however,  the  office  is  no  longer  tenable 
by  virtue  of  these  charisms  alone,  but  rather  the  charism  „^ 

.  ■'  f     i        •     1         ■         •  ^^^  charism  a 

IS  a  natural  consequence  of  the  induction  into  office,  result  of  the 
Ordination  comes  not  in  consequence  of  the  spiritual  °^°^' 
gift,  but  the  gift  is  imparted  in  the  act  of  ordination.  This  radical 
change  in  the  conception  of  ordination  was  a  consequence  of  the 
prevalent  idea  of  a  priesthood.'  The  clergy  has  assumed  the  pre- 
rogative of  mediation  between  God  and  man,  and  has  become  the 
channel  of  salvation  through  the  dispensation  of  the  sacraments." 

Another  important  change  noticed  near  the  close  of  the  second  or 
the  beginning  of  the  third  century  is  in  the  method  of  xhe  choice  of 
the  election  of  bishops.  Previously  the  bishop  had  been  bishops. 
chosen  by  the  people  and  approved  by  the  presbyters;  ^  now  the 
neighbouring  bishops,  in  connection  with  the  presbytery,  nominated 
the  candidate  and  the  people  gave  their  assent;  but  even  this  degen- 
erated into  a  mere  right  of  protest  against  those  who  were  regarded 
as  improper  candidates.*  A  like  change  is  observed  in  the  method 
of  ordination.  In  the  first  century  this  was  performed  by  the  apos- 
tles or  their  representatives,  associated  with  the  presbyters  of  the 
congregation  over  which  the  bishop  was  to  preside;  but  in  the  sec- 
ond century  the  episcopate,  as  the  depositary  of  spiritual  gifts,  was 
summoned  to  the  consecration  of  the  individual  bishops.  The  ear- 
lier participation  of  the  presbyters  in  this  ordination  was  gradually 
lost  in  all  the  churches  except  the  Alexandrian. 

The  diocesan  episcopate  was  certainly  a  matter  of  development. 
The  question  of  its  origin  has  been  much  debated.  It  The  episcopacy 
can  with  confidence  be  said  that  no  other  than  a  congre-  a  development, 
gational  episcopacy  is  met  before  the  middle  of  the  second  century. 
A  society  embracing  but  a  single  city  is  the  realm  of  the  authority 
of  the  early  bishop,  and  he  was  so  thoroughly  identified  with  this 
single  congregation  that  his  removal  to  another  could  be  allowed 
only  in  rare  and  exceptional  cases. 

To  the  question.  What  was  the  relation  of  the  bishops  and  their 

'  Ritschl:    Op.  cit,  s.  394,  ei  al. 

^  Gieseler:  Kircliengescliichte,  4te  Aufl.,  Bd.  i,  ss.  228-233.  Hagenbacli:  Dogmen- 
geschichte,  5te  Aufl.,  s.  157. 

^  Even  Cyprian  reco<rriises  this  right.  "Plebs  ipsa  maximam  habet  potestara  vel 
elegendi  dignos  sacerdotes.  vel  indignos  recusandi." — Ep.  68.  v.  Rlieinwald:  Die 
kirchliche  Archceologie,  s.  31.  *  Ep.  67,  cc.  4,  5. 


390    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

congregations  or  dioceses  to  each  other?  it  may  be  answered:  In 

.  the  second  century  these  possessed  and  maintained  a  ffen- 
Relations      of  .     ,  . 

bishops  to  each   eral  autonomy  or  independence.     But  this  could  not  be 

°^^^^'  absohite.     This  has  ah-eady  been  noticed  in  the  case  of 

nomination  and  ordination,  Tlie  severe  pressure  of  foes  from  with- 
out, and  the  threats  of  heretical  teachers  from  within,  comiDclled 
a  closer  union  of  the  various  congregations  for  mutual  protection 
against  both  these  dangers.  This  resulted  in  a  kind  of  synodical 
or  confederated  authority,  by  which  the  purity  of  doctrine  and  life 
might  be  guarded  and  the  heretical  and  incorrigible  be  exscinded. 
While  the  essential  autonomy  of  the  congregations  had  not  been 
infringed,  the'  synodical  authority  was  justified  on  the  ground  of 
Bishop  of  defence  against  a  common  danger.     In  this  college  the 

Rome.  Bishop  of  Rome  had  already,  in  the  second  century, 

assumed  special  prominence,  so  that  it  became  a  recognised  prin- 
ciple that  the  individual  bishops  should  be  in  harmony  with  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  on  all  questions  of  doctrine  and  discipline.  At 
the  close  of  the  century,  Victor  "  was  the  first  who  advanced  those 
claims  to  universal  dominion  which  his  successors  in  later  ages  have 
always  consistently  and  often  successfully  maintained."  ' 

The  changes  which  the  presbyterate  underAvent  during  the  first 

century  are  most  interesting  and  important  to  notice. 
Change    m  •'  . 

presbyterial  The  gradual  increase  in  the  prerogatives  of  the  bishops 
power,  necessarily  diminished  the  authority  and  dignity  of  the 

presbyterial  body.  Its  former  significance  had  been  lost.  More- 
over, the  deacons  had  claimed  many  privileges  which  before  had 
belonged  to  the  presbyters.  Not  until  near  the  beginning  of  the 
third  century  were  their  prerogatives  regained,  when  the  deacons 
were  placed  in  strict  subordination  to  the  presbyters.  The  distinc- 
tion which  was  afterward  so  prominent  is  already  beginning  to  as- 
sert itself.  While  presbyters,  as  well  as  bishops,  administer  the 
ordinances  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  they  do  it  by  a  differ- 
ent authority.  The  bishop  acts  upon  an  original  and  independent 
authority;  the  presbyter  upon  authority  derived  from  the  sanction 
or  permission  of  the  bishop.  So  with  preaching,  reconciliation  of 
penitents,  confirmation  of  neophytes,  consecration  of  churches,  etc. 
The  right  to  ordain  seems  to  have  been  very  rarely,  if  ever,  con- 
ceded to  the  presbyters  in  the  second  century.* 

'  Lightfoot:    Op.  cit,  p.  224. 

'  Bingham :  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church,  bk.  ii,  chap.  Hi.  The  exceptions 
urged  by  others  in  the  practice  of  the  Alexandrian  Cliurch  are  understood  by  Bing- 
ham to  refer  to  election,  and  not  to  ordination.  This  view,  however,  has  been  gravely 
questioned,  and  is  by  some  considered  untenable. 


CHURCH  CONSTITUTION— IREN^US  TO  CONSTANTINE.    391 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE  CHURCH  CONSTITUTION  PROM  IREN^US  TO  THE  ACCESSION  OF 

CONSTANTINE. 

§  1.   The  Theory  of  Irenmus. 

The  circumstances  of  the  Church  toward  the  close  of  the  second 

century  were  peculiar.     Fearful  persecutions  had  visited  some  of  the 

provinces,  and  some  of  the  most  prominent  leaders  had  sealed  their 

faith  by  a  martyr's  death.     Its  internal  state  was  no  more  assuring. 

The  prediction  of  Paul  that  after  his  departure  "  shall 

.     ^  .  ^  .  Peculiar  condi- 

grievous  wolves  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing  the  tions    of    the 

flock  "  (Acts  XX,  29),  had  been  fulfilled,  and  his  exhorta-  ^^"''^^• 
tion  to  Timothy  "  to  shun  profane  and  vain  babblings,  for  they  will 
increase  unto  more  ungodliness  "  (2  Tim.  ii,  16),  had  already  been 
shown  to  be  urgently  needed.  Teachers  had  arisen  who,  by  wrench- 
ing the  Scriptures  from  their  natural  and  appropriate  meaning,  had 
constructed  systems  no  less  fantastic  and  paradoxical  than  they  were 
disturbing  to  Christian  faith  and  corrupting  to  Christian  morals. 
The  system  of  allegorical  interpretation  which,  through  the  school  of 
Philo,  was  powerful  at  Alexandria,  had  become  wide-  r^^^  Gnostic 
spread  through  the  influence  of  the  Gnostic  teachers,  threats. 
Whether  this  phenomenal  manifestation  is  best  accounted  for  from 
the  syncretism  of  Jewish  and  Christian  thought  with  Greek  specu- 
lation,' or  whether,  like  the  orthodox  societies  themselves,  the 
Gnostics,  by  consulting  the  Greek  mysteries,  sought  a  practical 
end,^  the  danger  which  they  brought  to  the  very  life  of  Christianity 
was  real  and  fearful.  While  each  party  recognised  the  fact  that 
Christianity  had  originated  with  Christ  and  was  promulgated  by 
his  apostles,  and  also  that  they  had  left  certain  authoritative  teach- 
ings which  must  be  heeded,  nevertheless  each  laid  claim  to  personal 
freedom  in  the  interpretation  of  this  teaching,  and  was 
ready  to  attach  to  the  words  of  Christ  and  of  his  apos-  msions. 

ties  the  meaning  which  was  most  accordant  with  its  own  opinions. 
Thus  was  the  Church  of  Christ  no  longer  an  organism,  such  as 
had  been  so  vividly  portrayed  by  Paul  (1   Cor.   xii,  12-27;  Eph. 

'v.  Joel:  Blicke  in  die  Religumsgeschichte,  Excursus  IT,  Die  Gnosis,  Breslau,  1880. 
'v.  Weingarten:  in  Von  Sybel's  Historiche  Zeitschrift,  Bd.  xlv,  1881. 


393    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

iv,  25),  knit  together  by  faith  in  one  common  doctrine  and  com- 
pacted by  a  common  life,  but  the  teaching  of  Gnosticism  plainly 
resolved  Christian  doctrine  into  a  confused  conglomeration  of 
human  opinions,  and  Church  government  and  ordinances  into  mat- 
ters of  individual  caprice.  Hegesippus  vividly  pictures  the  condi- 
Testimony  of  tion  of  things.  From  these  (the  various  Gnostic  sects) 
Hegesippus.  sprang  the  false  Christs  and  false  prophets  and  false 
apostles  vrho  divided  the  unity  of  the  Church  by  the  introduction 
of  corrupt  doctrines  against  God  and  against  his  Christ.' 

Irenseus,  also,  is  powerful  in  his  portraitures,  and  unsparing  in 
irenaeus's  testi-  ^^^  denunciation  of  false  teachers.  His  apprehension 
mouy.  foi-  the  safety  of  the  Church  is  conspicuous  throughout 

his  entire  treatise.*  All  the  energies  of  his  vigorous  nature  seem 
enlisted  in  this  effort  to  throttle  the  foes  w^ho  were  threatening  the 
life  of  the  Church,  and  to  settle  its  doctrine  upon  firm  foundations. 

What,  then,  is  the  principle  which  Irenseus  recognised  and  main- 
The  principle  tained  in  the  controversy  with  the  Gnostic  sects  ?  and 
of  irenasus.  what  influence  did  this  exert  upon  the  constitution  of 
the  Church  ?  The  answer  to  the  first  is  easily  found  in  the  writings 
of  Irenaeus  himself,  and  is  so  often  reiterated  that  we  cannot  be  in 
doubt  respecting  it.  In  the  midst  of  the  conflict  of  opinions  aris- 
ing from  the  freedom  of  individual  interpretation  of  the  Script- 
ures, he  maintained  that  the  supreme  and  only  standard  of  Christ- 
ian teaching  was  that  which  was  given  by  the  apostles  to  the 
churches  in  their  day.  This  teaching  of  the  different  apostles  was 
essentially  harmonious,  and  was  authoritative  throughout  the  Christ- 
ian world  dui'ing  their  lifetime.  "We  have  learned  from  none 
„  .  others  the  plan  of  our  salvation  than  from  those  through 

Harmony       of  ^  ,  ° 

apostolic  teach-  whom  the  Gospel  has  come  down  to  us,  which  they  did 
'°^'  at  one  time  proclaim  in  public,  and,  at  a  later  period, 

by  the  will  of  God,  handed  down  to  us  in  the  Scriptures,  to  be  '  the 
ground  and  pillar  of  our  faith '  (1  Tim.  iii,  15).  .  .  .  For,  after 
our  Lord  rose  from  the  dead,  they  (the  apostles)  were  invested  with 
power  from  on  high,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  came  down,  were  filled 
from  above  and  had  perfect  knowledge ;  they  departed  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth  preaching  the  glad  tidings  of  good  things  from  God  to  us, 
and  proclaiming  the  peace  of  heaven  to  men,  who  indeed  do  all  equally 
and  individually  possess  the  Gospel  of  God.^  It  is  within  the 
power  of  all,  therefore,  in  every  church,  who  may  wish  to  see  the 
truth,  to  contemplate  clearly  the  tradition  of  the  apostles  mani- 

'  Eusebius :  Hist.  Eccles.,  iv,  22. 

^Adverstts  Haereses:  Last  edition  by  Harvey,  Cambridge,  1857,  2  vols. 

*  AdversiLS  Bixreses,  iii,  1,  1. 


CHURCH  CONSTITUTION— IREN^US  TO  CONSTANTINE.    303 

fested  throughout  the  whole  world."  '  But  to  whom  did  the  apostles 
commit  this  only  and  authoritative  doctrine,  and  by  what  means  has 
it  been  handed  down  to  Irenoeus's  time  uncontaminated  by  error 
and  in  all  its  integrity,  so  that  himself  and  his  adversaries  alike  can 
rest  in  it  as  the  word  of  Christ  ?  To  the  bishops  of  the  churches 
which  were  founded  by  the  apostles;  and  by  them  it  has  The  bishops 
been  handed  down  in  an  unbroken  line  of  succession  to  riSof  apostoUc 
his  day.  He  then  appeals  to  Rome,  the  best  known  and  teaching. 
most  influential  Church  of  the  time,  whose  episcopal  succession  he 
traces  with  greatest  care.  He  also  mentions  the  well  known  church 
of  Smyrna,  which  had  had  a  succession  of  most  illustrious  men 
whose  teachings  had  been  heard  by  those  with  whom  ^  regular  suc- 
Irenceus  and  many  of  his  contemporaries  had  conversed.^   cession. 

This  teaching  is,  then,  the  one  unchanging  rule  of  faith,  regula 
fidei,  preserved  by  an  infallible  tradition,  through  an  unbroken 
succession  of  bishops  from  the  apostles.  Irenaeus  maintains  that 
the  episcopacy  is  the  true  depositary  of  the  apostolic  tradition, 
and  that  this  tradition  is  the  sure  ground  of  doctrinal  unity  and 
authoritative  teaching  in  the  Catholic  Church.^  Hence  we  find  that 
attempts  were  now  made  to  construct  lists  of  bishops  in  compilation  of 
the  various  churches,  especially  in  Rome,  in  order  to  es-  lists. 
tablish  this  continuity."  To  confirm  this  historic  argument  was 
added  the  statement  that  to  guard  the  bishops  against  error  they 
were  endowed  with  a  special  gift.  "  Wherefore  it  is  incumbent  to 
obey  the  presbyters  in  the  Church,  .  .  .  who,  together  with  the  succes- 
sion of  the  episcopate,  have  received  the  certain  gift  of  truth,  char- 
isma veritatis,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  the  Father."  ^ 
"  Where,  therefore,  the  gifts,  charismata,  of  the  Lord  have  been 
placed,  there  it  behooves  us  to  learn  the  truth,  from  those  who  possess 
the  succession  of  the  Church  which  is  from  the  apostles,"  etc.^  Such, 
then,  is  the  principle  which  he  defended.     With  him  both  Hegesip- 

'  Id.,  iii,  3,  1.  ^  Id.,  iii,  3,  3,  4;  iii,  4,  1 ;  iii,  5,  1,  ei  al 

'Id.,  iv.  26,  1,  2;  v,  20,  2. 

*  These  catalogues  are  divided  into  two  general  classes,  characterized  in  a  broad 
and  general  way  as  the  Greek  and  the  Latin.  The  first  includes  the  lists  which  are 
found  in  the  second  century,  largely  those  of  Hegesippus  and  Irenaeus ;  and  in  the 
fourth  and  following  centuries,  those  of  Eusebius  and  his  successors.  The  second 
class  embraces  the  lists  of  Augustine,  Optatus  of  Mileve,  of  the  Catalogus  Liberianus, 
Catdbgus  Filicianus,  the  Liber  Pontificalis,  and  the  various  early  Marty rologies. 
These  catalogues  are  not  in  agreement  respecting  the  succession  of  the  early 
Roman  bishops,  about  which  there  is  great  uncertainty.  Nor  are  the  modern  critics 
of  these  catalogues,  as  Duchene,  Harnack,  Waitz,  Lipsius,  and  others,  any  more  in 
accord  on  this  very  difiBcult  problem. 

5  Id.,  iv,  26,  2.  « Id.,  iv,  26,  5. 


394    ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

pus  and  Tertullian  are  in  substantial  agreement.^  The  manifest 
others  In  t'ffect  of  such  a  theory  upon  the  constitution  and  govern- 
agreement.  ment  of  the  Church  was  to  magnify  the  relative  import- 
ance and  authority  of  the  bishops.  They  to  whom  were  entrusted 
truths  so  invaluable,  and  upon  whom  were  bestowed  such  extraordi- 
nary gifts,  must  be  reckoned  among  elect  ministers,  whose  persons 
were  of  superior  sanctity  and  whose  words  were  of  the  nature  of  di- 
vine messages.  "  The  supremacy  of  the  bishop  and  unity  of  doctrine 
were  conceived  as  going  hand  in  hand,  .  .  .  the  bishop's  seat  was 
conceived  as  being  what  St.  Augustine  calls  it,  the  'cathedra  uni- 
tatis;'  and  round  the  episcopal  office  revolved  the  whole  vast  sys- 
tem not  only  of  Christian  administration  and  Christian  organization, 
but  also  of  Christian  doctrine."  ^  The  earlier  opinion,  that  the 
Church,  as  such,  had  been  the  heir  of  the  truth  and  doctrine  of  the 
apostles  in  so  far  as  it  retained  the  presence  and  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  maintained  its  hold  on  many  minds,  and  even  Irenseus 
and  Tertullian  in  their  earlier  writings  are  imbued  with  this  thought. 
But  in  his  later  writings  Tertullian  teaches  that  the  bishop  holds  his 
office  by  virtue  of  inheritance  from  the  apostles,  and  both  Calixtus 
and  his  opponent,  Hippolytus,  insist  upon  their  succession  from  the 
apostles  by  virtue  of  which  alone  they  have  preserved  Christianity 
in  its  original  purity.' 

§  2.    The  Influence  of  Cyprian. 

In  the  third  century  the  constitution  of  the  Church  was  further 
developed  by  the  labors  and  writings  of  Cyprian,  who  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  foremost  exponent  of  the  ecclesiastical  and  episcopal 
sentiment  of  his  age.  The  principle  of  the  unity  of  doctrine  and  of 
authoritative  teaching  is  pushed  still  farther  than  by  Irenaeus, 
Hegesippus,  and  Tertullian.  With  Cyprian  the  unity  of  the  Church 
is  absolutely  identified  with  that  of  the  episcopate.  The 
Church  identi-  principle  of  the  episcopacy  is  not  only  the  apostolic  suc- 
*'*^"  cession,  but  much  more  the  bestowment  upon  the  bishops 

of  the  Holy  Ghost;  so  that  the  unity  of  the  Church  is  secured  by  a 
double  means,  namely,  a  direct  and  unbroken  succession  from  the 
apostles  and  the  communication  to  all  bishops  alike  of  a  common 
With  unity  of  spirit.  Where  this  spirit  is  vouchsafed,  there  the  unity 
episcopacy.  of  the  Church  must  necessarily  be  secured,  for  in  its 
presence  diverse  opinions  and  teachings  must  be  impossible.    "  There 

'Tertullian:  de  prcescr.  Eaer.,  c.  21.     Communicamus  cum  ecclesiis  apostolicis, 
quod  nulla  doctrina  diversa,  hoc  est  testimonium  veritatis. 

'  Hatch:    Op.  cit,  pp.  98,  99.     Baur  :    Ghristenthum,  etc.,  ss.  284,  285. 

3  v.  Harnack:   Lehrbuch  der  Dogmengeschichte,  Freiburg,  1894,  Bd.  i,  ss.  295-97. 


CHURCH  CONSTITUTION— IREN^US  TO  CONSTANTINE.    395 

is  one  God,  and  Christ  is  one,  and  there  is  one  Church,  and  one 
chair  founded  upon  the  i-ock  by  the  word  of  the  Lord.  Another 
altar  cannot  be  constituted,  or  a  new  priesthood  made  except  the 
one  altar  and  the  one  priesthood." '  Each  bishop  must  be  of  the 
same  mind  as  every  other  bishop;  in  the  episcopate  no  individual 
exists  for  himself,  but  is  only  a  member  of  a  wider  organic  whole. 
"And  this  unity  we  ought  firmly  to  hold  and  assert,  especially  those 
of  us  who  are  bishops  who  preside  in  the  Church,  that  we  may 
also  prove  the  episcopate  itself  to  be  one  and  undivided.  .  .  .  The 
episcopate  is  one,  each  part  of  which  is  held  by  each  one  for  the 
whole." '^  But  in  the  development  of  the  idea  of  unity  Cyprian 
passes  beyond  his  predecessors  in  that  he  regards  this  which  pro- 
unity  as  proceeding  from  one  determinate  point — the  H^^  ^""^j™  *gj^ 
chair  of  St.  Peter.  While  the  other  apostles  were  of  Peter, 
like  honor  and  authority  with  Peter  himself,  nevertheless  to  Peter 
Christ  first  gave  power  to  institute  and  show  forth  this  unity 
to  the  world.'  The  chair  of  St.  Peter  is  the  foremost  Church 
whence  priestly  unity  is  derived,^  and  the  same  unifying  power 
must  be  recognised  as  in  every  one  who  has  occupied  the  same  chair. 
Outside  the  one  Church  the  sacraments  are  unavailing,  although 
administered  by  the  regular  formula  and  in  proper  mode.  "  For  as, 
in  that  baptism  of  the  world,  in  which  its  ancient  iniquity  was 
purged  away,  he  who  was  not  in  the  ark  of  Noah  could  not  be 
saved  by  water,  so  can  he  neither  appear  to  be  saved  by  baptism 
who  has  not  been  baptized  in  the  Church  which  is  established  in 
the  unity  of  the  Lord  according  to  the  sacrament  of  the  one  ark."  ^ 
With  the  idea  of  apostolic  succession  is  connected  the  rule  of 
faith  as  a  mark  and  proof  of  the  Catholic  Church.  To  the  doctrine 
of  an  authoritative  subjective  knowledge.  Gnosis,  enjoined  by  a 
chosen  few,  Cyprian  stoutly  opposes  the  objective  norm  power  of  tra- 
of  faith.  Tradition  is  now  elevated  to  a  place  of  abso-  dition. 
lute  authority.  The  bishops  are  the  guardians  of  Church  unity. 
Although  the  term  Catholic  Church,  i]  KadoXiKi)  eKKXrjaia,  had  been 
first  used  by  Ignatius, "  and  is  found  in  Tertullian  and  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  yet  it  was  used  in  a  sense  quite  different  from  that 
found  in  Cyprian.  Not  until  his  time  can  we  properly  speak  of  a 
Catholic  Church;  since  now  for  the  first  time  is  seen  the  distinction 
between  the  acts  of  a  minister  of  the  congregation  and  the  duties  of 

'  Ep.  39,  c.  5.  ^  Deunitaie  ecclesice,  c.  5. 

^ De  unit,  eccles..  c.  4;  Ep.  73,  c.  11.     Unde  unitatis  originem  instituit  et  ostendit. 
'' Ep.  54,  c.  14.     Cathedra  Petri  est  ecclesia  principalis  nude  unitas  sacerdotalis 
exorta  est. 

*Ep.  73,  c.  11.  ^ad  Smyrn.,  c.  8. 


396    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

an  officer  of  the  Church  Catholic.  The  society  or  congregation  is 
properly  the  logical  antecedent,  the  necessary  condition  of  an  office 
therein.  But,  contrariwise,  when  the  office  and  the  officer  are  held 
to  be  the  logical  antecedent,  and  the  congregation  can  only  there 
be  found  where  the  office  and  the  officer  ai-e  already  existent,  then 
first  can  there  strictly  be  said  to  be  an  office  and  an  officer  of  the 
Church  Universal.  So  that  in  the  third  century  the  bishop  is  no 
longer,  as  before,  regarded  as  the  representative  of  a  specific  con- 
gregation or  society,  but  of  the  universal  Church;  this  last  term 
^v,    v.- 1-  being:  inclusive  of  all  the  consrreerations,  as  the  genus  in- 

The  bishop  no  ^  _  _  .  .  .        . 

longer  local,  eludes  under  it  all  its  species.  According  to  this  view 
but  general.  ^^^  congregation  and  its  entire  officiary  would  have 
ecclesiastical  validity  only  through  the  bishop.  Nevertheless,  since 
there  now  exists  a  complete  harmony  of  the  mind  and  will  of  Christ 
with  the  collected  body  of  bishops,  every  expression  of  the  will  of 
every  bishop  in  this  totality  of  the  episcopate  must  harmonize  with 
the  divine  will.  Only  thus  can  any  bishop  assume  to  exercise  direc- 
tion or  authority  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  For  the  assumption  of 
a  prerogative  so  arrogant,  a  special  charism  is  imparted  in  the  rite 
of  ordination.  To  the  Montanistic  view,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  re- 
veals added  truth  to  each  individual,  was  opposed  the  teaching 
that  the  Spirit  and  the  Church  are  inseparably  connected.  The 
Church  finds  the  fact  of  its  existence  and  unfolding  in  the  Sjiirit, 
and  the  Spirit  finds  the  organ  and  means  of  his  manifestation  in  the 
Church.  To  the  vague  and  arbitrary  claim  that  each  man  was  spe- 
cially enlightened,  and  was,  therefore,  prepared  to  teach  new  truth, 
was  opposed  the  consensus  of  teaching  of  the  one  holy  Catholic 
Church  which  had  been  saved  from  error  by  the  Holy  Spirit.* 

By  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  ordination  the  mind  and  will 
By  ordination  o^  the  bishop  are  brought  into  harmony  with  the  mind 
Is  this  effected,  and  will  of  Christ,  and  he  receives  thereby  authority 
not  only  to  teach  but  to  bind  and  loose;''  thus  becoming  the  source 
of  all  valid  Church  discipline  and  government.  The  bishops  are 
the  successors  of  the  apostles,  and,  therefore,  by  virtue  of  a  vica- 
rious ordination,  have  the  power  to  remit  sins.'  Every  truly  ecclesi- 
astical act  is  of  the  nature  of  a  divine  law,  since  it  is  suggested  and 
dictated  by  the  Spirit  vouchsafed  to  the  bishop  in  the  rite  of  ordi- 
nation.   "  No  bishop,  no  Church,"  is  the  real  teaching  of  this  father.* 

'  Baur:  Bos  Christenihum,  etc.,  ss.  296,  297. 
"^  V.  Ritschl :    Op.  cit,  s.  582 ;  Baur  :    Op.  cit.,  ss.  296-300. 

^  Ep.  74  (75),  c.  16.     With  Cyprian  schism  and  heresy  are  absoUitely  identical. 
*  V.  Ep.  66,  c.  8.    Scire  debes,  episcopam  in  ecclesia  et  ecclesi;im  in  episcopo,  et  si 
qui  cum  episcopo  non  sit,  in  ecclesia  non  esse. 


CHURCH  CONSTITUTION— IREN^US  TO  CONSTANTINE.    397 

The  various  bishops  exercise  but  one  office  in  common;  notwith- 
standing the  division  into  dioceses,  they  represent  the  unity  and 
totality  of  the  Church/ 

§  3.  The  Sacerdotal  Principle. 
The  sacerdotal  character  of  the  episcopacy,  as  we  have  before  in- 
timated, had  been  mildly  asserted  prior  to  the  third  cen-  Growth  of  sac- 
tury.  Yet  probably  not  even  Irengeus  can  be  claimed  erdotaiism. 
as  teaching  more  than  a  moral  priesthood,  and  this  not  limited  to 
any  single  order  in  the  Church.  Nor  can  the  frequent  references  of 
Tertullian  *  to  a  sacerdotal  office  be  understood  as  pertaining  to  the 
clergy  alone,  much  less  to  the  bishops.  Indeed,  this  able  presbyter 
is  positive  in  his  assertions  that  a  Church  may  exist  without  the 
presence  of  the  clergy,  and  that  in  their  absence  laymen  may  bap- 
tize and  celebrate  the  eucharist  by  virtue  of  their  being  members  of 
Christ's  universal  Church,  all  of  whose  members  have  become 
"  kings  and  priests  unto  the  Lord."  ^  Quite  similar  views  ai'e  held 
by  Origen.  At  most  his  sacerdotalism  goes  no  further  than  in  sup- 
posing that  the  priestly  character  and  function  of  the  clergy  are  not 
an  original  and  necessary  endowment  of  this  order,  but  rather  it  is 
derived  from  the  congregation,  which,  for  the  time  being  and  for 
purposes  of  ecclesiastical  order,  has  delegated  to  the 
bishops  its  own  indefeasible  right.  The  office-bearers  priesthood  of 
of  the  Church  represent  in  themselves  the  character  and  ^^^  clergy 

comGS  from  thG 

religious  privileges  of  the  entire  body  of  believers;  "  the  priesthood  of 
priesthood  of  the  ministry  is  regarded  as  springing  from  the  entire 
the  priesthood  of  the  whole   body."  * 

But  by  Cyprian  a  new  and  most  important  phase  of  the  sacerdotal 
question  is  developed.    From  his  time  the  bishop  is  truly 

CvDriS'ii'sviGW. 

the  priest,  and  the  separation  between  clergy  and  laity  is 

real  and  significant.    All  the  duties  and  prerogatives  that  pertained  to 

'  V.  de  unitate  ecclesice,  c.  5.  Episcopatus  unus  est  cuius  a  singulis  in  solidum  pars 
tenetur. 

*  De  Exhort.  Cast,  c.  7;  de  Bnptismo,  c.  17 ;  de  Prce.scr.  Hceres.,  c.  41,  ei  al. 

2  "  The  sacerdotal  conception  of  the  ministry  is  not  found  in  Ignatius,  in  Clement 
of  Rome,  or  Clement  of  Alexandria,  in  Justin,  or  in  IrensBus,  or  in  any  other  ecclesi- 
astical writer  prior  to  Tertullian."     v.  Fisher:    The  Beginnings  of  Christianity,  p.  553. 

•*  In  this  there  was  a  very  close  parallelism  to  the  priestly  noiion  (compare  Exod. 
xix,  6;  Lev.  xx,  26;  Deut.  xxxi,  19,  with  1  Pet.  ii,  5  and  9;  Rev.  i,  6;  v,  10)  as  it 
was  originally  conceived  in  the  Jewish  Church,  v.  Bahr:  Symbolik  d.  mosdischen 
Culttis,  Bd.  ii,  ss.  11-22.  "Was  das  Volk  im  weiten,  grossen  Kreise,  das  ist  der 
Priesterstand  im  kleinern,  engern,  besonderern  Kreise;  in  ihm  concentrirt  sich  dem- 
nach  die  religiose  Wiirde  des  gesammten  Volkes;  alles  was  dieses  zukommt  ist  ihm 
in  hoherem  Grade  und  darum  audi  in  vollerem  Masse  eigen."  s.  13. 


398    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

the  Aaronic  priesthood  he  devolves  upon  the  Christian  ministry,  and 
all  the  threats  of  punishment  and  disaster  uttered  against  the  Jews 
for  their  disobedience  to  their  priests  Cyprian  likewise  makes  to  apply 
to  all  who  are  disobedient  to  the  ministers  of  the  Christian  Church." 
The  effect  of  this  triumph  of  the  sacerdotal  principle  will  appear 
when  we  come  to  treat  of  the  sacraments,  their  nature  and  import. 
„    .    .  ,        Whether  this  result  was  due  to  the  influence  of  Jewish- 

Was  It  of  Jew-  r-i        •  1         1  • 

ish  or  pagan  or-  Christian  or  of  Gentile  churches  is  still  a  matter  of 
^^1°''  debate.     Lightfoot  decides  for  the  latter:  "  Indeed,  the 

hold  of  the  Levitical  priesthood  on  the  mind  of  the  pious  Jew  must 
have  been  materially  weakened  at  the  Christian  era  by  the  develop- 
ment of  the  synagogue  organization  on  the  one  hand  and  by  the 
ever-growing  influence  of  the  learned  and  literary  classes,  the  scribes 
and  rabbis,  on  the  other.  The  points  on  which  the  Judaizers  of  the 
apostolic  age  insist  are  the  rite  of  circumcision,  the  distinction  of 
meats,  the  observance  of  the  Sabbaths,  and  the  like.  The  necessity 
of  a  priesthood  was  not,  or  at  least  is  not,  known  to  have  been  a 
Lightfoofs  Y>Sirt  of  their  programme.  .  .  .  But,  indeed,  the  over- 
opinion,  whelming  argument  against  ascribing  the  growth  of 
sacerdotal  views  to  Jewish  influence  lies  in  the  fact  that  there  is  a 
singular  absence  of  distinct  sacerdotalism  during  the  first  century 
and  a  half,  where  alone  on  any  showing  Judaism  was  powerful 
enough  to  impress  itself  on  the  belief  of  the  Church  at  large. 

"  It  is  therefore  to  Gentile  feeling  that  this  development  must  be 
ascribed.  For  the  heathen,  familiar  with  the  auguries,  lustrations, 
sacrifices,  and  depending  on  the  intervention  of  some  priest  for  all 
the  manifold  religious  rites  of  the  state,  the  club,  and  the  family, 
the  sacerdotal  functions  must  have  occupied  a  far  larger  space  in 
the  affairs  of  every-day  life  than  for  the  Jew  of  the  dispersion,  who, 
of  necessity,  dispensed  and  had  no  scruple  in  dispensing  with  priest- 
ly ministrations  from  one  year's  end  to  the  other.  With  this  pre- 
sumption drawn  from  probability  the  evidence  of  fact  accords."  * 

We  have  before  said  (v.  p.  343)  that  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
was  powerful  in  modifying  the  prevailing  Jewish  sacerdotal  notion; 
yet  Lightf  oot's  reasons  are  very  important.  It  is  probably  true  that 
neither  branch  of  the  early  Church  was  unfavourable  to  this  thought, 
after  the  warm  religious  feeling  of  the  apostolic  Church  had  some- 
what subsided.  One  sure  result  of  a  spiritual  declension  is  to  dimin- 
ish the  feeling  of  individual  worth  and  responsibility,  to  magnify 
forms,  and  delegate  to  others  duties  which  were  before  regarded  as 
personal. 

Moreover,  the  reasons  already  given  for  a  more  thorough  and 
'  Ep.  54,  64,  68.  «  Op.  cit,  p.  260. 


CHURCH  CONSTITUTION— IREN^US  TO  CONSTANTINE.    399 

compact  ecclesiastical  organization  after  the  middle  of  the  second 
century  would  apply  with  equal  force  to  the  question  of  the  origin 
of  sacerdotalism  in  the  Christian  Church,  A  centre  of  organization 
would  soon  carry  with  it  peculiar  prerogatives,  and  unity  of  doctrine 
and  government  would  imply  an  authority  to  interpret  and  enforce 
this  unity.  This  official  class  would  naturally  seek  for  all  possible 
sanctions  for  the  exercise  of  such  extraordinary^  powers,  and  to  re- 
gard these  as  divinely  bestowed  was  entirely  consonant  with  the 
historical  development  of  Judaism  and  of  the  heathen  religions. 

In  answering  the  question  of  the  source  of  this  principle,  it  is 
however,  of  first  importance  to  study  the  opinions  of  the  Christian 
fathers  themselves.  It  might  be  expected  that  in  the  varied  and 
extensive  writings  of  men  by  whom  the  sacerdotal  notion  was  first 
sanctioned  and  defended  the  references  to  a  Gentile  origin  might 
be  frequent.  Thoroughly  conversant  with  heathen  customs  and  re- 
ligious rites,  as  well  as  with  profane  literature  and  civil  law,  and 
converted  to  Christianity  in  mature  life,  Tertullian  and  Cyprian 
were  the  men  best  acquainted  with  the  origin  of  the  priestly  notion, 
and  with  the  source  of  the  change  which  passed  upon  the  ecclesias- 
tical polity  from  the  close  of  the  second  to  the  middle  of  the  third 
century.  Yet  in  the  writings  of  neither  of  these  eminent  fathers  is 
there  an  intimation  that  the  sacerdotal  principle  was  suggested  by 
Gentile  customs.  On  the  contrary,  they  uniformly  derive  their  no- 
tions of  the  character,  and  enforce  the  authority,  of  the  clergy  by 
examples  from  the  Jewish  Church  and  from  the  prerogatives  of  the 
Aaronic  priesthood,'  From  these  considerations  it  may  be  fairly 
inferred  that  in  the  Jewish  economy,  as  well  as  in  the  religious  cus- 
toms with  which  the  Gentile  converts  were  entirely  familiar,  the 
sacerdotal  principle  in  the  Church  of  the  third  century  found  its 
origin  and  sanction, 

§  4.    The  Apostolic  Constitutions. 

Another  class  of  writings  illustrating  the  nature  and  develop- 
ment of  the  early  Church  government  are  the  "  Apostolic  Constitu- 
tions," ^  The  first  six  books,  probably  belonging  to  the  latter  half 
of  the  third  century,  are  plainly  Jewish-Christian  in  their  sj)irit  and 
teaching,  A  strong  likeness  to  the  pseudo-Clementine  homilies  is 
everywhere  noticeable.  The  episcopate  is  very  strongly  empha- 
sized.    The  bishop  is  the  vicar  of  the  unseen  Lord  Christ,  and  is  to 

'  V.  for  Cyprian,  ep.  61,  c.  4 ;  ep.  67,  c.  3 ;  ep.  72,  c.  8,  et  al. 

'  V.  edition  of  P.  A.  Lagarde,  Leipzig,  1862;  also  the  criiical  discussions  and  esti- 
mates of  Drey :  Neue  Untersuchungen  liber  die  Constitut.  u.  Kanones  d.  Aposteln,  Tiibiu- 
gen,  1832;  and  Bickell:    Geschichte  d.  Kirchenrechts,  Giessen,  1843, 


400    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

exercise  leadership  and  watch-care  until  the  Lord  shall  come  again.* 
The  Church  is  regarded  as  a  divine  state,  in  which  the 
bishop  exercises  the  highest  functions  of  judge,  prophet, 
and  priest,  llis  judicial  power  in  civil  matters  is  supreme."  By 
virtue  of  complete  knowledge  conferred  by  the  Holy  Spirit  he  be- 
comes the  infallible  prophet  and  teacher;  to  him,  as  high-priest,  ex- 
clusively belongs  the  right  to  arrange  the  services  of  divine  wor- 
ship,and  to  be  the  spiritual  director  of  the  flock.^  With  him  rests  the 
original  authoritative  rule  of  faith  as  given  by  the  apostles.  These 
writings  give  minutest  directions  respecting  ordination.  This  must 
Ordination,  be  conferred  by  three  bishops  at  least;  only  in  case  of 
how  effected,  extreme  need  is  the  work  of  two  regarded  as  canonical. 
The  act  of  ordination  does  not,  however,  as  in  the  opinion  of  Cypri- 
an, confer  upon  the  candidate  special  spiritual  gifts. ^  The  sacerdo- 
tal character  of  the  episcopacy  is  even  more  pronounced  than  in  the 
writings  of  Cyprian.  In  these  writings  the  constitution  of  the 
Church  and  the  character  of  its  government  are  those  of  a  thor- 
oughly unified,  closely  compacted,  and  widely  recognised  organiza- 
tion, in  which  are  found  nearly  all  the  germs  of  the  powerful  hier- 
archy whose  influence  was  so  controlling  for  nearly  a  thousand  years. 
Thus  in  the  process  of  two  and  a  half  centuries  the  constitution  of 
the  Church  underwent  several  important  changes.  The  origin  and 
cause  of  these  are  at  times  veiled  in  deep  obscurity.  The  great 
paucity  of  evidence,  both  documentary  and  monumental,  the  doubt 
attaching  to  the  genuineness  and  integrity  of  some  of  the  wi'itings 
which  have  survived,  and  the  great  difficulties  of  their  interpreta- 
tion give  occasion  for  the  honest  maintenance  of  different  theories. 
Affected  by  its  But  a  careful  examination  of  the  history  justifies  the 
environment,  conclusion  that  these  changes  were  effected  more  by 
the  peculiar  Influences  incident  to  the  propagation  of  a  new  relig- 
ion than  to  either  a  directly  divine  institution  or  to  a  set  purpose 
on  the  part  of  the  Church  leaders.  The  ecclesiastical  organization 
which  we  find  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  is  but  a  nat- 
ural outcome  of  the  peculiar  forces  which  pressed  upon  the  Church 
Church  ETovern-  ^^^^^  within  and  from  without.  A  compact  unity  of 
ment  a  devei-  both  doctrine  and  discipline  for  self-defence  comported 
opment.  with  the  idea  of  an  office  and  officer  who  should  thor- 

oughly embody  that  unity  in  himself,  and  who  should  be  prepared 
for  the  high  responsibility  of  maintaining  this  unity  through  direct 
inspiration  of  knowledge  and  purity  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

'  Const.,  ii,  20.         '^  Id.,  ii,  11,  45-53.         ^jd.,  ii,  27,  33;  iii,  10.         ^d.,  viii,  4,  5. 


OFFICES  AND  OFFICERS  OF  POST-APOSTOLIC  CHURCH.    401 


CHAPTEE  Y. 

THE  OFFICES  AND  OFFICERS  OF  THE  POST-APOSTOLIC  CHURCH. 

§  1.    Origin  of  Episcopacy. 

From  this  examination  it  will  appear  less  surprising  that  dif- 
ferent opinions  have  been  entertained  respecting  the 
origin    of    the    episcopac3^       Three    general    theories 
have  been  urged  with  great  ability  by  their  respective  advocates: 

1.  Episcopacy  is  of  apostolic  origin.      The   apostles  chose  and 
oi'dained  men  to  be  their  true  and  lawful  successors  as 

teachers  and  governors  of  the  Christian  Church.  These 
men  were  clothed  with  like  authority  and  endowed  with  like  spirit- 
ual gifts  as  the  apostles  themselves  in  order  to  preserve  intact 
the  teachings  and  spirit  of  Christ,  who  instituted  the  apostolate. 
The  advocates '  of  this  theory  urge  the  following  considerations  : 
I.)  The  position  of  James,  who  stood  at  the  head  of  the  Church 
of  Jerusalem.  2.)  The  office  of  the  assistants  and  delegates  of 
the  apostles,  as  Timothy,  Titus,  Silas,  Epaphroditus,  Luke,  etc.,  who 
in  a  measure  represented  the  apostles  in  specific  cases.  3.)  The 
angels  of  the  seven  Asiatic  churches,  who,  it  is  claimed,  were  of  the 
rank  of  bishop.  4.)  The  testimony  of  Ignatius  presupposes  the 
episcopate  as  already  in  existence.  5.)  The  statement  of  Clement 
of  Alexandria  that  John  instituted  bishops  after  his  return  from 
Patmos;  also  the  accounts  of  Irenaeus,  Tertullian,  Eusebius,  and 
Jerome  that  the  same  apostle  nominated  and  ordained  Polycarp  as 
bishop  of  Smyrna.  6.)  The  traditions  of  the  churches  of  Antioch 
and  Rome,  which  trace  their  line  of  bishops  back  to  apostolic  insti- 
tution and  keep  the  record  of  an  unbroken  succession.  V.)  The 
almost  universal  and  uncontested  spread  of  the  episcopate  in  the 
second  century,  which  it  is  conceded  by  all  cannot  be  satisfactorily 
explained  without  the  presumption  of  at  least  the  indirect  sanction 
of  the  apostles." 

2.  It  originated  in  the  so  called  household  societies  or  congrega- 

'  This  is  the  view  of  the  Greek  Church,  and  is  embraced  by  most  of  the  Romau 
Catholics  and  the  High  Anglicans.  It  is  also  advocated  by  Bimsen,  Rothe,  Thiersch, 
and  a  few  other  Protestant  scholars. 

"  Abridged  from  Schaff:  Op.  cit,  vol.  ii,  pp.  135-139.  Rothe  is  the  most  able 
modern  defender  of  this  theory. 


402    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

tions.  The  following  considerations  are  urged  by  this  school:  1.)  It 
is  well  known  that  in  the  more  important  cities  single 
families  gathered  in  the  house  of  a  well  known  disciple, 
and  thus  were  formed  the  so  called  family  societies  or  churches 
[kKicXrioia  Kar'  oIkov).  2.)  The  foremost  person  among  the  disciples 
thus  banded  together  was  called  to  extend  his  patronage  or  pro- 
tection to  the  society  thus  formed.  This  family  patronage  is  men- 
tioned in  the  Scriptures/  as  well  as  in  the  letters  of  Ignatius.*  It 
seems  to  have  been  quite  generally  recognised  at  Rome,  and  there 
are  clear  intimations  of  its  prevalence  at  Corinth.'  Afterward, 
when  these  family  churches,  over  each  of  which  such  patron  presided, 
were  united  into  one  congregation,  a  college  of  presbyters  or  patrons 
would  thus  be  formed,  to  whose  president  was  given  the  title  of 
bishop,  eTTiaKonog.     In  this  manner  the  episcopate  originated." 

3.    A  third  theory  has  been  well  formulated  as  follows:  "The 

episcopate  was  formed  not  out  of  the  apostolic  order  by 
Third  theory  .        .  .  . 

localization,  but  out  of  the  presbyterial  by  elevation;  and 

the  title,  which  originally  was  common  to  all,  came  at  length  to  be 
appropriated  to  the  chief  among  them."  ^  In  other  words,  the  episco- 
pate, as  a  distinct  office,  was  of  post-apostolic  origin,  was  not  a  dis- 
tinctively divine  institution,  and  therefore  not  an  office  necessary 
to  the  existence  of  the  Christian  Church.  It  was  the  result  of 
peculiar  circumstances,  a  development  from  the  needs  which  the 
early  Church  felt  for  unification  of  government  and  doctrine, 
and  for  the  more  careful  oversight  and  administration  of  its 
charities.  The  facts  urged  by  the  advocates  of  this  theory  are: 
1.)  The  almost  universally  conceded  identity  of  bishops  and  pres- 
byters in  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament.  2.)  This  identity  of 
terms  continues  to  the  close  of  the  first  century,  and  even  into  the 
second;  at  least  there  is  no  clearly  conceived  difference,  and  they 
seem  to  be  used  interchangeably  or  very  loosely.  3.)  From  the  first 
century  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  thii-d  it  was  the  custom  of 
the  influential  Church  of  Alexandria  to  recognise  twelve  presbyters. 
From  this  number  the  body  elected  and  consecrated  a  president,  to 
whom  they  gave  the  title  of  bishop.  They  then  elected  one  to  take 
his  place  in  the  presbyterial  body.     It  is  also  probable  that  to  the 

'  Rom.  xvi,  14,  15  ;  1  Cor.  xvi,  19. 

^Ad  Ejyhes.,  c.  5,  6,  8,  13,  20 ;  ad  Smyrn.,  c.  1,  2,  7,  8,  et  al. 

n  Cor.  i,  16;  xvi,  15,  19. 

*For  the  influence  of  these  house  or  family  societies  upon  the  development  of 
ecclesiastical  architecture,  v.  bk.  i,  eh.  vi.  This  is  substantially  the  theory  of  Baiir, 
Kist,  Weingarten,  Heinrici,  Hase,  and  others,  v.  especially  Baur  :  ijber  den  Ursprung 
des  Episcopats,  ss.  85,  90,  lOT,  et  al. 

*Lightfoot:    Op.  cit,  p.  19G. 


OFFICES  AND  OFFICERS  OF  POST-APOSTOLIC  CHURCH.    403 

end  of  the  second  century  the  bishop  of  Alexandria  was  the  only 
bishop  in  all  Egypt.'  4.)  Jerome  distinctly  aiSrms  that  the  Church 
was  originally  governed  by  a  body  of  presbyters,  and  that  the 
bishop  was  elected  at  a  later  period  to  secure  unity  of  doctrine  and 
government.  In  other  words,  it  was  a  prudential  measure  and  not 
a  divine  institution. 

§  2.   The  Presbyters,  Deacons,  Deaconesses,  etc. 

The  effect  of  the  efforts  of  Irenaeus  and  Tertullian  to  secure  a  unified 
and  authoritative  doctrine,  regulafidei,  and  of  Cyprian,  Calixtus,  and 
Hegesippus  to  realize  the  idea  of  "a  holy  Catholic  Church,"  through 
the  supervision  of  bishoj^s  who  should  exercise  their  prerogatives 
by  virtue  of  an  unbroken  succession  from  the  apostles.  Duties  and  pre- 
necessarily  conferred  upon  the  episcopal  office  a  dignity  rogatives. 
and  an  importance  before  unknown.  The  difference  between  them 
and  the  body  of  presbyters  and  the  deacons  became  more  dis- 
tinct, and  the  duties  and  prerogatives  of  each  were  more  sharply 
defined  and  carefully  guarded.  The  division  of  the  Church  into 
clergy  and  laity  became  more  positive  than  before.  The  clergy  are 
now  priests  to  serve  at  the  altar,  to  minister  for  the  people.  But 
both  clergy  and  laity  are  alike  subject  to  the  authority  of  the 
bishop.     Cyprian  had  also  the  energy  to  enforce  these  provisions. 

The  rights  which  all  members  of  the  Church  had  enjoyed  in  the 
first  and  early  part  of  the  second  century  were,  under  Irenaeus  and 
Cyprian,  largely  ignored,  and  in  the  times  after  Cyprian  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  Church  more  and  more  disallowed  the  claims   ^ .   .,  ^. 

Limitation     of 

of  the  laity  to  a  participation  in  government.  These  rights  of  the 
privileges  of  private  members  were  curtailed  to  almost  ^^^^^' 
the  same  degree  as  the  inflixence  of  the  bishops  increased."  The 
laity  could  be  present  at  the  assemblies  of  the  church,  and  could 
approve  any  decision  which  had  been  reached  by  the  presbyterial 
council.  But  this  was  only  a  matter  of  form,  and  their  failure  to 
approve  was  not  of  the  nature  of  a  veto,  since  the  prevailing  theory 
was  that  the  pi'esbyterial  council  was  under  the  special  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  hence  that  its  conclusions  were  not  to  be  set 
aside.  The  presbyters  now  perform  their  duties  by  virtue  of  being 
a  constituent  part  of  the  presbytery.  In  this  association  with  the 
bishop  they  are  sometimes  called  co-presbyters.  In  one  of  Cyprian's 
letters '  they  are  represented  as  united  with  the  bishop  in  priestly 

'  The  rapid  growth  of  the  diocesan  principle  is,  however,  seen  in  the  fact  that  by 
the  middle  of  the  third  century  Egypt  had  more  than  a  score  of  bishops. 
2  Otto  Ritschl:    Cyprian  von  Carthago,  etc.,  Gottingen,  1885,  ss.  211,  212. 
^  Ep.  61,  3.    Episcopo  sacerdotale  honore  conjuncti. 


404    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

honor.  This  has  been  cited  by  some  to  show  his  belief  in  the 
equality  of  bishops  and  presbyters.  But  this  view  does  not  com- 
port with  the  general  teaching  and  conduct  of  Cyprian,  nor  is  it 
in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  "  Apostolic  Constitutions,"  Rather 
must  this  and  other  somewhat  similar  expressions  indicate  the 
priestly  character  of  the  presbyters  by  virtue  of  their  prerogative 
to  bring  the  offering  in  the  eucharist.  This  is  made  more  clear 
from  the  advice  given  in  case  of  lapsed  or  heretical  presbyters 
Functions  of  who  sought  readmission  into  the  Church.  They  were 
presbyters.  ^q  \)q  received  as  private  members.'  The  presbyters 
were  to  officiate  at  the  altar  in  the  absence  of  the  bishop,  and  they 
with  the  deacons  were  to  care  for  the  interests  of  the  Church.* 

In  case  the  Church  was  so  widely  scattered  that  its  members 
could  not  assemble  in  one  place,  the  presbyters  were  acciistomed 
to  celebrate  the  eucharist  in  the  distant  districts.  The  priestly 
power  was  not  held  by  virtue  of  their  office  as  presbyters,  but 
because  they  were  the  agents  and  representatives  of  the  bishops. 
The  original  functions  of  the  presbyters  as  rulers  were  now  en- 
larged, and  what  had  at  first  been  regarded  with  a  degree  of 
jealousy  became  at  the  close  of  the  third  century  ordinary  and 
unquestioned.'  In  Cyprian's  day  the  presbyters  had  an  advisory 
voice  in  the  council.  The  preliminary  examinations  and  the  first 
bringing  of  causes  before  the  council  were  left  to  their  decision. 
In  the  third  century  a  special  class  of  presbyters,  presbyteri  doc- 
tores,  is  met,  whose  duties  have  given  rise  to  considerable  debate. 
It  seems  most  probable,  however,  that  they  were  merely  teachers  of 
the  catechumens  and  of  those  who  returned  from  the  heretical 
sects,  as  at  an  earlier  period  they  instructed  those  who  passed  from 
heathendom  to  Christianity. 

The  office  and  duties  of  the  deacons  underwent  like  transforma- 
changes  in  the  tions.  From  ministers  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and 
functions  of  the  companions  and  advisers  of  the  bishop  in  the  admin- 
istration of  public  charities,  by  the  growth  of  the  sacer- 
dotal notion  they  came  to  be  regarded  as  subordinate  to  bishojDS 
and  presbyters,  sustaining  in  the  Christian  economy  the  same  rela- 
tion as  did  the  Levites  to  the  priests  under  the  Mosaic. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  Church  in  numbers  and  the  multiplica- 

NoionRerover-  ^ion  of  its  charities  made  direct  oversight  by  the  dea- 

seers  of  chari-  cons  impracticable.     They  could  no  longer  personally 

inspect  the  individual  cases  of  want  and  report  them  to 

the  bishop.     Moreover,  the  founding  of  asylums,  orphanages,  guest- 

'  Ep.  •72,  2.  2  Kp   5^  2. 

^Hatcli:    Op.  cit.,  pp.  77,  78;  0.  Rilschl:    Op.  ciL,  s.  232. 


OFFICES  AND  OFFICERS  OF  POST-APOSTOLIC  CHURCH.     405 

Louses,  etc.,  each  managed  by  its  appropriate  board,  materially  mod- 
ified the  original  functions  of  the  deacons,  and  reduced  them  for  the 
most  part  to  the  position  of  subordinate  ministers  of  public  wor- 
ship. Nevertheless,  they  were  conceived  as  sustaining  even  closer 
relations  to  the  bishops  than  the  presbyters  themselves.  When, 
therefore,  they  were  constituted  a  college  under  a  president,  known 
as  the  archdeacon,  this  officer  became  intimately  associated  with  the 
bishop  in  the  administration  of  affairs.' 

In  the  time  of  Cyprian  the  deacons  manifestly  bore  the  consecrated 
elements  to  the  confessors  who  were  languishing  in  prisons,  and  also 
aided  the  bishop  in  the  administration  of  baptism  and  of  the  eucharist. 
In  fine,  they  seem  now  to  have  come  to  be  ministrants  to  the  other 
orders  in  the  Church.'  Thus  they  are  permitted  to  read  the  Gospel 
lesson  at  the  communion  service; '  they  care  for  the  furniture  of  the 
altar  in  those  churches  where  the  inferior  officers  were  forbidden  by 
the  canons  of  the  councils  to  come  into  the  sanctuarium;  they  re- 
ceive the  offerings  of  the  people  and  present  them  to  the  minister  at 

the  altar.     They  are  allowed  to  baptize  by  the  permis- 

,  ,       .  «     ,       1  .  1  1         .     .  .  T  1  May  baptize, 

sion  and  authority  oi  the  bishop,  but  it  is  evident  that 

this  was  differently  regarded  in  different  churches,  some  granting 

and  others  denying  this  function  to  the  deacons.* 

After  the  Church  had  accepted  the  sacerdotal  idea  of  the  ministry 

the  right  of  the  deacons  to  consecrate  the  eucharist  was   „    ,^     .    , 
=>  _  _  Could  not  cele- 

for  the  most  part  denied.    Since  the  eucharist  was  of  the  brate  the  eu- 
nature  of  a  sacrifice,  none  but  a  priest  could  lawfully  offer  chanst. 
it;  and  the  priestly  character  of  the  deacons  was  not  generally  recog- 
nised.^  By  the  authority  of  the  bishop  they  were  permitted  to  preach, 
and  in  some  instances  to  read  homilies  or  sermons  which  had  been  pre- 
pared by  distinguished  ministers.   They  were  the  especial         . 
servants  of  the  bishops,  often  accompanying  them  as  vants   of    the 
secretaries  in  their  diocesan  visits,  and  on  extraordinary  ^^^hops. 
occasions  became  their  representatives  in  the  general  councils,  where, 
as  deputies  or  proxies,  they  were  permitted  to  vote  on  all  questions 
there  determined.     The  disciplinary  function  of  these   officers  is 

referred  to  elsewhere.     The  asre  at  which  candidates 

When  eligible. 
were   eligible  to   the   office  was   usually   twenty -five. 

This  was  afterward  fixed  by  the  decisions  of  councils  and  by  the 

edicts  of  emperors.     Their  number  greatly  varied  in  different  prov- 

'  Hatch:    Op.  cit,  pp.  53,  54.  "  v.  Ritschl:    Op.  cit.,  s.  235. 

3  Constit.  Apost.,  1.  2,  c.  57. 

*  TertuUian,  Jerome,  and  Cyprian  clearly  recognise  this  right ;  the  Apostolic  Con- 
stilutions  and  Bpiphaniiis  as  clearly  deny  it. 
5  Constit.  Apost,  1.  8,  c.  28. 


406    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

inces  of  the  empire,  and  in   different  periods  of  the  history  of  tlie 

Church.     In  some  instances  there  is  a  very  strict  adherence  to  the 

orisrinal  number  seven.  In  the  influential  Church  of 
The      number         ®  .  ,      .  ,         . 

seven    contin-   Rome  this  number  long  continued;  in  other  important 

"^•^-  churches  their  number  seems  to  have  increased  as  the 

necessities  of  worship  and  administration  required;  in  St.  Sophia 

and  three  other  churches  of  Constantinople  Justinian  allowed  one 

hundred. 

The  archdeacon  was  president  of  the  body  or  college  of  deacons. 

The    archdea-   The  method  of  his  appointment  is  not  always  clear. 

con.  Probably  it  was  not  uniform.    He  appears  to  have  been 

nominated  by  the  bishop  and  elected  by  his  fellow  deacons.     While 

the  lano^uaffe  of  some  canons  clearly  makes  it  the  duty  of 
How  elected.  ... 

the  bishop  to  appoint  his  own  archdeacon, the  manner  of 

such  appointment  is  not  indicated.  Since  this  oflicer  was  most  inti- 
mately connected  Avith  the  bishop,  and  was,  next  to  him,  the  most 
important  in  the  Church,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  councils  should 
jealously  guard  the  selection.  In  all  the  distinctive  functions  of  his 
office  the  bishop  relied  directly  and  immediately  upon  the  archdeacon. 
Hence,  in  case  of  the  death  of  a  bishop  the  archdeacon,  rather  than  one 

of  the  presbyters,  was  usually  appointed  his  successor.' 
His  importance,    rm  i         i  ^  •/      x  i  .  i        , 

Ihere  has  been  much  controversy  respecting  the  char- 
acter, oftice,  and  functions  of  the  deaconesses  in  the  ancient  Church. 
The  deacon-  That  an  order  of  women  whose  duties  somewhat  corre- 
esses.  sponded  to  those  of  the  deacons  existed  in  the  early 

Church  is  unquestioned.  But  as  to  the  grounds  of  eligibility,  the 
question  of  ordination,  the  scope  of  duties,  etc.,  widely  different 
opinions  have  obtained.  It  is  probable  that  women  of  somewhat 
advanced  years,  widows  who  had  borne  children,  were  usually 
chosen;   yet  it  is  as  certain  that  young  unmarried  women  were 

sometimes  appointed.  Piety,  discretion,  and  experience 
Qualiflcations.  .  ^^  ,       •     t  i  i  ... 

were  in  any  case  the  indispensable  prerequisites  in  can- 
didates. During  the  first  two  centuries  the  Church  more  carefully 
heeded  the  advice  of  Paul  that  the  deaconess  should  have  been  the 
wife  of  one  husband,*  also  that  the  Church  should  admit  to  this 
office  only  those  who  had  been  thoroughly  tested  by  previous  trusts, 
having  used  hospitality  to  strangers,  washed  the  saints'  feet,  relieved 
the  afflicted,  diligently  followed  every  good  work,   etc.    (1  Tim. 

'  V.  Bingliam:  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church,  bk.  ii,  chap.  xxi. 

*  The  teaching  of  Paul  in  this  passage  is  not  plain.  Whether  it  is  to  be  taken  in 
its  literal  meaning,  or  whether  he  meant  to  exclude  only  those  who,  after  divorce 
from  the  first  husband,  married  a  second  time,  is  not  clear.  The  latter  interpreta- 
tion best  accords  with  the  spirit  of  the  Xew  Testament  teachiug. 


OFFICES  AND  OFFICERS  OF  POST-APOSTOLIC  CHURCH.    407 

V,  10);  but  at  a  later  period  there  was  more  laxity,  and  younger 
and  inexperienced  women  were  admitted.     The  question  of  their 
ordination  has  been  much  debated.    They  were  inducted   Their    ordina- 
into  their  office  by  the  imposition  of  hands;   of  this  ^ion. 
there  is  abundant  proof.    This  would  not  necessarily  imply  the  right 
to  fulfill  the  sacred  functions  of  the  ministry.     While  some  of  the 
Montanists   allowed   women   to   be  bishops  and    presbyters,  their 
practice  was  strongly  opposed  as  unscriptural,  and  Tertullian  '  con- 
demns the  allowing  of  women  to  baptize  as  contrary  to   Did  not  ^ap- 
the  apostolic  teaching.     Yet  it  may  well  be  doubted  '^i^e. 
whether  this  was  the  earlier  view  of  the  Church,  before  the  sacerdo- 
tal character  of  the  ministry  had  come  to  be  generally  recognised." 
The  need  of  such  helpers  arose  from  the  customs  and  usages  of 
the  ancient  world,  which  forbade  the  intimate  association 
of  the  sexes  in  public  assemblies.     They  were  to  instruct 
the  female   catechumens,  to  assist  in  the  baptism   of  women,  to 
anoint  with  holy  oil,'   to  minister  to  the  confessors  who  were  lan- 
guishing in  prison,  to  care  for  the  women  who  were  in  sickness  or 
distress,  and  sometimes  were  doorkeepers  in  the  churches,'' 

§  3.    C?u>repiscopi,  Metropolitans,  or  Primates,  and  Patriarchs. 

The  centralization  of  power  and  the  unification  of  the  govern- 
ment under  the  Roman  emperors  exerted  a  very  marked  influence 
upon  the  administration  of  the  Christian  Church.  The  facts  that 
Italy  thereby  lost  its  peculiar  privileges,  and  that  the  freemen 
throughout  the  vast  empire  had  equal  rights  as  Roman  citizens, 
were  the  necessary  antecedents  to  the  complete  unification  of  church 
administration  when  Christianity  was  adopted  as  the  state  religion. 
To  secure  a  vigorous  government  in  Italy,  Augustus  had  divided  it 
into  eleven  regions;  and  Constantine  extended  this  principle  to  the 
entire  empire,  by  forming  four  pretorian  prefectures;  namely,  of 
Gaul,  of  Italy,  of  Illyricum,  and  of  the  East.  Each  of  these  was 
divided  into  dioceses,  and  these  again  into  provinces. 

In  the  fourth  century  the  Christian  Church  accepted  these  divi- 
sions of  the  empire  as  useful  in  its  own  government;  and  it  is  note- 
worthy that  sometimes  the  ecclesiastical  divisions  long  outlived 
the  political,  and  became  of  extreme  importance  in  tracing  the  civil 

'  Be  Baptismo,  c.  17. 

^  The  Monlanists  were  the  Puritans  of  their  age.  Their  protests  against  hurtful 
innovations  of  doctrine  and  government  were  vigorous  and  often  just;  hence  their 
recognition  of  the  rights  of  women  to  minister  in  sacred  things  must  have  been  be- 
heved  to  be  in  accordance  with  apostoUc  usage. 

=  Const.  Apost.,  1.  3,  c.  15.  ■*  Const.  Apost.,  1.  2,  c.  57. 


408    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

history.'  The  patriarchates  of  the  Church  corresponded  quite 
closely  to  the  political  prefectures,  only  departing  from  them  terri- 
torially to  the  degree  that  they  might  group  together  peoples  of 
like  race  and  language.  In  the  course  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  cen- 
turies the  patriarchal  system  became  quite  clearly  defined;  giving 
the  patriarchate  of  Rome,  of  Constantinople,  of  Antioch,  of  Alex- 
andria, and,  a  little  later,  of  Jerusalem — the  last  being  taken  from 
that  of  Antioch.  The  name  patriarch  was  at  first  confined  to  the 
ecclesiastic  having  jurisdiction  over  one  of  these  patriarchates;  but 
at  a  later  period  this  title  was  more  loosely  used,  sometimes,  as 
in  the  case  of  Rome,  being  extended  to  embrace  all  Italy,  Gaul, 
Britain,  and  most  of  the  Teutonic  peoples,  while  in  other  cases  it 
was  applied  to  such  as  had  under  their  supervision  a  simple  see. 

Under  the  patriarchs  were  metropolitans,  each  of  whom  had  jur- 
isdiction in  a  diocese,  whose  capital  city  was  also  the  ecclesiastical 
metropolis.  These  provinces  were  in  turn  divided  into  episcopal 
sees  or  districts,  over  which  bishops  had  jurisdiction.  The  extent 
and  importance  of  these  dioceses  and  districts  greatly  fluctuated — 
in  southern  Europe  and  in  the  lands  adjacent  to  the  Mediterranean 
being  small  in  area,  while  in  northern  Europe,  and  in  the  outlying 
lands  where  missionary  labours  had  resulted  in  founding  churches, 
a  district  often  included  an  entire  tribe  or  principality. 

Thus  the  ecclesiastical  divisions  of  the  empire  were  suggested  by, 
and  corresponded  quite  closely  to,  the  political.  "As  in  every  metrop- 
olis or  chief  city  of  each  province  there  was  a  superior  magistrate 
above  the  magistrates  of  every  single  city,  so,  likewise,  in  the  same 
metropolis  there  was  a  bishop,  whose  power  extended  over  the 
whole  province,  where  he  was  called  the  metropolitan,  or  primate, 
as  being  the  principal  bishop  of  the  province.  ...  In  like  manner, 
as  the  state  had  a  vicarms  in  every  capital  city  of  each  civil  dio- 
cese, so  the  Church  in  process  of  time  came  to  have  exarchs,  or 
patriarchs,  in  many,  if  not  in  all,  the  capital  cities  of  the  empire,"" 
This  dependence  of  the  ecclesiastical  divisions  upon  the  political 
is  further  shown  from  the  fact  that  as  the  latter  were  changed  the 
former  experienced  like  change;  and  when  the  question  of  primacj'' 
between  two  churches  in  the  same  pi'ovince  or  district  arose,  it  was 
settled  by  ascertaining  which  the  state  regarded  as  the  metropolis, 
and  conforming  the  Church  thereto.  Thus,  cities  which  at  one 
period  were  no  more  than  single  sees  afterward  became  seats  of 
metropolitans  and  patriarchs,  while  a  former   metropolis  sank  to 

^  V.  Freeman:  The  Historical  Geography  of  Europe,  second  edition,  Loudon,  1882. 
chap.  vii. 

^  V.  Bingham :  Antiquities  of  the  Church,  bk.  ix,  chap,  i,  p.  342. 


OFFICES  AND  OFFICERS  OF  POST-APOSTOLIC  CHURCH.    409 

the  condition  of  a  mere  see.'     Tlie  relations  and  duties  of  these 
several  ecclesiastical  officers  will  now  more  clearly  appear. 

The  existence  of  Christian  societies  in  the  villages  and  rural  dis- 
tricts more  or  less  remote  from  the  city,  which  was  the  occasion  of  in- 
special  diocese  of  the  bishop,  rendered  it  necessary  that  stitut'on. 
a  special  officer  should  be  appointed  for  their  immediate  oversight. 
These  were  called  chorepiscopi,  r7\q  X^9^?  kmoKOTTOi,''  or  bishops  of 
the  country.  They  were  the  assistants  of  the  bishops  in  adminis- 
tration. Whether  they  were  simple  presbyters  or  had  presbyters  or 
received  episcopal  ordination  has  divided  the  opinion  of  Wshops? 
archaeologists.  Probably  both  at  times  officiated  in  this  capacity; 
either  presbyters  directly  appointed,  or  bishops  who  had  been 
rejected  by  their  dioceses,  or  had  been  received  again  from  the 
number  of  those  who  had  belonged  to  a  schismatic  party.^  They 
first  appear  toward  the  close  of  the  third  century  in  Asia  Minor, 
and  are  first  recognised  by  the  Councils  of  Ancyra  and  Neo- 
Cfesarea  in  A.  D.  314,  and  by  the  Council  of  Nice  in  A.  D.  325. 
They  continued  in  the  Eastern  Church  until  about  the  ninth  cen- 
tury, and  in  the  Latin  Church  until  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century. 
They  exercised,  at  times,  most  of  the  functions  of  the 
bishops  themselves.  We  find  some  councils  clothing 
them  with  authority  to  ordain  all  inferior  officers  in  their  churches, 
sometimes  even  without  the  permission  of  the  city  bishop ;  but  in 
most  instances  consultation  with  the  bishop  of  the  city  church  was 
expected,  and  special  leave  obtained.  They  had  authority  to 
confirm;  to  give  letters  of  dismission  and  commendation  to  the 
clergy   who   were   about  to    remove    to   other   parts;    to  conduct 

public  divine  service  in  the  chief  church  in  the  presence 

j>  , ,       ,  •  1  11-  •     •  ,        mi  Sat  In  councils, 

or  the  bishop,  or  by  his  permission  or  request.     They 

are  found  in  the  councils,  casting  their  votes  on  all  questions  there 

'  Bingham  gives  the  approximate  notitia  of  the  Church  at  the  close  of  the  fourth 
century.  In  the  patriarchate  of  Antioch,  corresponding  closely  with  the  civil  notitia, 
were  fifteen  provinces,  with  the  same  number  of  metropolitans.  In  the  patriarchate 
of  Alexandria  (diocese  of  Egypt)  there  were  six  metropolitans ;'  in  the  exarchate  of 
Ephesus,  ten  metropolitans;  in  the  exarchate  of  Caesarea,  eleven ;  in  the  exarchate 
of  Heraclea  (afterward  Constantinople),  six ;  in  the  exarchate  of  Thessalonica,  six ; 
in  the  exarchate  of  Milan,  seven ;  in  the  patriarchate  of  Rome,  ten ;  in  the  exarchate 
of  Sirmium,  six ;  in  the  exarchate  of  Carthage,  six ;  in  the  diocese  of  Spain,  seven ; 
in  the  diocese  of  Gaul,  seventeen;  in  the  diocese  of  Britain,  five  provinces,  with  cap- 
itals at  York,  London,  and  Caerleon.  In  his  final  index  he  gives  a  list  of  185  prov- 
inces or  metropolitan  districts,  and  1,560  episcopal  sees.  Yet  it  is  probable  that 
such  lists  are  far  from  perfect. 

"^  This  seems  the  more  probable  derivation. 

'  Such  instances  are  mentioned  by  Socrates:  Hist.  EccL,  1.  4,  c.  7;  and  were  dis- 
tinctly provided  for  by  conciliary  action,     v.  Canon  8  of  the  Council  of  Nice. 


410    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

decided/   and  exercising    every  right   pertaining  to  the  episcopal 
members  of  the  synods  or  councils. 

The  primate,  or  metropolitan/  sustained  a  like  relation  to  the 
bishops  of  a  province  as  did  the  bishop  of  a  city  to  the 
chorepiscopi  of  his  country  churches.  The  time  of  the 
introduction  of  this  office  is  not  certain.  Like  most  other  ecclesias- 
tical provisions  it  was  probably  created  to  meet  a  felt  need  in  the 
government  and  oversight  of  the  churches.  While  some  find  its 
Time  of  origin  beginning  in  the  prerogatives  exercised  by  Titus  and 
uncertain.  Timothy  in  the  early  Church,  others  as  strenuously  deny 
its  apostolic  origin,  and  place  its  beginning  as  late  as  the  third  cen- 
tury. The  Council  of  Nicsea  clearly  recognises  the  office  as  of  long 
standing,  and  treated  it  as  a  venerable  institution.  Cyprian  men- 
tions ^  that  the  bishop  of  Carthage  presided  over  all  the  other 
African  bishops,  and  issued  to  them  mandates.  Whether  this  was 
indeed  the  exercise  of  metropolitan  2:)ower,  or  simply  has  reference 
to  the  fact  of  presidency  in  the  councils,  is  not  very  clear.  Xever- 
theless,  by  the  fourth  century  the  metropolitan  office  is  fully  I'ecog- 
nised,  and  is  regulated  in  its  functions  and  privileges  by  the  canons 
of  councils. 

They  were  elected  and  ordained  by  the  bishops  of  their  province. 
How  appoint-  Their  functions  were  different  at  different  stages  of 
*^'^-  the  history  of  the  Church.    Their  most  important  duties 

and  prerogatives  were  to  preside  at  the  provincial  councils;  to  pro- 
vide for  and  ordain  the  bishop  to  a  vacant  see;  to  decide  questions 
between  the  various  bishops,  or  between  individual  bishops  and  their 
flocks;  to  assemble  synods  for  the  examination  of  doc- 

Their  duties.  . 

trine  and  the  enforcement  of  discipline;  to  publish  to 
the  churches  of  their  provinces  the  conciliary  decrees,  or  the  edicts 
of  the  emperor,  by  which  doctrine  and  discipline  were  to  be  incul- 
cated; to  issue  letters  of  commendation  to  the  bishops  of  their 
districts,  since  these  were  not  permitted  to  journey  abroad  without 
such  letters;  to  hear  appeals  of  presbyters  or  deacons  who  had  been 
deposed  by  the  bishop  of  a  diocese." 

The  patriarchs  were  evidently  a  class  of  highest  dignity  and  au- 

'  The  subscriptions  of  the  Council  of  Nicsea  clearly  prove  the  presence  of  chor- 
episcopi from  several  provinces,  also  the  subscriptions  of  the  councils  of  Neocaesarea 
and  Epbesus. 

^  The  distinction  between  the  metropolitan  and  archbishop  is  not  easy  to  describe. 
That  they  were  synonymous  has  been  held  by  some  high  authorities,  and  denied  by 
others.  Sometimes  they  seem  to  be  almost  identical,  at  other  periods  of  the  history 
a  plain  distinction  is  made.     v.  Augusti:    Op.  ciL,  bd.  i,  ss.  201,  202. 

^  Ep.  42,  ad  Cornelian;  Ep.  40  and  45. 

■•  V.  Bingham :  Antiquities  of  the  Church,  bk.  ii,  ch.  xiv. 


OFFICES  AND  OFFICERS  OF  POST-APOSTOLIC  CHURCH.    411 

thority.     During  the  fourth  century  the  office  became  quite  widely 
recognised,   and    was  confirmed   by  the  general  coun- 
oils  of  Constantinople  A.  D.  381,  Ephesus  A.  D.  431, 
and  Chalcedon  A.  D.  551.      The  patriarch  sustained  to  the  met- 
ropolitans   relations    similar  to  those  which  the  latter  ^j-ose    gradu- 
held   to  the   bishops  of  sees;  hence  he  was    ordained  aiiy. 
by  his  metropolitans,  and  in  turn  ordained  them.      He  presided 
at  diocesan  councils,  heard  appeals  of  bishops  from  the  decisions  of 
the  metropolitans,  communicated  to  them  the  imperial 
edicts  or  conciliary  decrees,  censured  the  metropolitans 
in  case  of  remissness,  etc.     Each  patriarch  was  regarded  as  supreme 
in  his  own  patriarchate  until   Rome  and  Constantinople  rose   to 
superior  dignity  and  laid  claim  to  superior  authority. 

§  4.    The  Sub-orders  of  the  Clergy. 

The  shifting  conditions  of  the  post-apostolic  Church  necessitated 
changes  in  its  constitution  and  discipline.  Whenever  the  needs 
were  urgent,  the  Church  exerted  herself  to  satisfy  them.  The  prin- 
ciples of  Christian  prudence  and  reasonable  adjustment,  providential 
rather  than  that  of  divine  institution,  here  governed.  indications. 
As  the  functions  of  the  chief  officers  varied  according  to  provi- 
dential indications,  so  the  wants  of  the  societies  led  to  the  institu- 
tion of  inferior  offices  which  were  believed  to  conti'ibute  to  the 
convenience  or  effectiveness  of  church  activities,  discipline,  or  life. 
The  theory  that  the  orcUnes  niinores,  especially  the  lectores,  origin- 
ated by  a  differentiation  of  the  duties  of  the  diaconate  ^  cannot  be 
regarded  as  resting  on  firm  historical  foundations.  This  prudential 
principle  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  sub-officers  are  not  met  with  until 
the  third  century,  when  the  organization  of  the  churches  had  be- 
come more  complete,  and  then  only  in  local  societies  whose  circum- 
stances are  peculiar.  It  is  doubtful  whether  they  appear  in  the 
Greek  Church  before  the  fourth  century.  The  most  important  of 
these  inferior  officers  are: 

1.  The  sub-deacons,''  whose  duty  it  was  to  assist  the  deacons,  espe- 
cially in  those  important  churches  where  the  original 
number  seven  had  been  continued.      The  province  of 
these  sub-officers  was  jealously  guarded,  so  that  many  of  the  duties 
of  the  deacons  were  not  permitted  to  them.     While  ordained,^  they 

1  V.  Scherer:  Eandbuch  des  Kirchenrechts,  Gratz,  1886,  bd.  i,  s.  317.  Contra,  v.  Har- 
nack :  tjher  den  Ursprung  des  Ledorates  und  der  anderen  niederen  Weihen,  Giessen,  1886. 

*  It  is  believeci  that  Athanasitia  is  tlie  first  Greek  writer  who  mentions  them. 

^  They  are  supposed  to  be  first  distinctly  referred  to  by  Cyprian,  Epist.  8,  20,  23, 
29,  etc. 


412    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNiMENT. 

were  not  clothed  with  authority  to  aid  in  administering  the  sacra- 
ments, nor  in  any  case  to  preach,  but  their  functions  were  largely 
manual,  sometimes  menial. 

2.  The  acolyths,   aKoXovdoi,  were  at  first  confined  to  the  Latin 

Church;  no  Greek  writer  earlier  than  Justinian  makes 

^col  vtb  s 

mention  of  them.     The  meaning  of  the  term  would  sug- 
gest that  they  were  general  servants,  but  the  reception  of  a  candle- 
stick with  a  taper  in  it,  and  an  empty  pitcher  in  which 
Their  duties  .  .  .  .    . 

to  bring  wine,  on  the  occasion  of  their  installation,  point 

to  the  lighting  of  the  churches  and  the  care  of  the  wine  for  the 
eucharist  as  their  chief  duties. 

3.  The  casting  out  of  devils  by  prayer  and  by  special  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  mentioned  in   the  apostolic  age.      Christ  says  the 

devils  shall  be  subject  to  his  apostles;  yet  a  wider  circle 
of  exorcists  is  implied  in  the  references  which  are  met 
in  the  first  and  second  centuries.     As  a  distinct  class  of  ofticers  they 
first  appear  in  the  third  century.    From  the  Ajiostolic  Constitutions  ^ 
we  should  infer  that  their  origin  must  have  been  of  a  later  date;  yet 
the  more  just  opinion  is  that  in  the  third  century  they  were  recog- 
nised as  having  a  distinct  function  in  the  Church.     This 
function  was  to  offer  special  prayer  over  the  demoniacs, 
who  were  kept  for  the  most  part  in  the  church,  to  minister  to  their 
physical  needs  and  to  effect  a  restoration. 

Other  inferior  ofticers  who  appeared  from  the  third  century  are 
the  readers,  lectores,  who  read  the  Scriptures  from  the  reading  desk, 
not  the  altar;  the  door-keepers,  ostiarii,  who  had  charge  of  the 
entrances,  in  order  to  permit  no  unworthy  person  to  come  into  the 
place  of  worship ;  the  singers,  psabnistce,^  who  cared  for  the  sing- 
ing of  the  Church  and  the  training  of  the  choirs  for  the  antiphonal 
service;  the  catechists,  who  were  to  instruct  the  catechumens  in 
the  first  principles  of  religion,  thus  fitting  them  for  baptism.  This 
instruction  could  not,  however,  be  conducted  in  the  public  congre- 
gation. 

'  1.  viii,  c.  26. 

*  It  is  doubtful  whether  these  appear  as  a  distinct  class  before  the  fourth  century, 


SYNODS  AND  COUNCILS  AND  THEIR  AUTHORITY.         413 


CHAPTER  YI. 

SYNODS  AND  COUNCILS,  AND  THEIR  AUTHORITY. 

The  council  at  Jerusalem  was  the  first  assembly  of  the  "  apos- 
tles, elders,  and  brethren,"  to  decide  upon  doctrines  xhe  synod  of 
and  polity  which  were  to  be  accepted  by  the  Christian  Jerusalem, 
societies.  It  is  an  instructive  fact  that  in  this  first  council  are  the 
apostles  and  elders  with  the  lohole  Church,  and  that  the  decisions  are 
sanctioned  by  the  entire  body  .  This  is  in  perfect  accord  with  the 
general  spirit  of  the  apostolic  age.  The  entire  body  of  believers 
were  to  be  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit  into  all  truth,  and  they  were 
the  depositary  of  ecclesiastical  power.  Nevertheless,  the  meetings 
for  consultation  upon  matters  of  general  interest  were  in  harmony 
with  what  was  well  understood,  not  only  by  the  citizens  of  the  Ro- 
man Empire,  but  by  all  the  ancient  world.  The  Achaian,  Thessalian, 
^tolian,  Amphictyonic,  and  other  councils  and  leagues 
are  only  familiar  examples  of  the  custom  of  the  ancient  ogy  of  civil 
cities  and  peoples  to  meet  for  consultation  on  interests  ^'^^"^^• 
common  to  all.  We  find  almost  precisely  the  same  terms — provinces, 
dioceses,  metropolitans,  synods,  councils,  etc. — used  to  characterize 
these  assemblies  and  their  members. 

The  assertion  of  the  unity  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  necessarily 
carried  with  it  unity  of  doctrine  and  government.  Ref-  Necessary  to 
erence  has  already  been  made  to  the  intimate  relations  ^n^ty'^^of  [^e 
which  existed  between  the  different  bishops,  and  the  Church. 
means  used  to  maintain  these  relations  for  purposes  of  preserving 
the  unity  of  the  Church. 

Hence,  after  the  middle  of  the  second  century  the  assembly  of 
delegates  from  the  societies  of  a  province,  for  the  determination  and 
maintenance  of  the  most  important  questions,  is  quite  common. 
They  appear  in  Asia  Minor  and  Gaul.  These  gather-  provincial  syn- 
ings,  called  provincial  synods,  became  quite  general  in  ^^• 
the  beginning  of  the  third  century,  and  wei*e  generally  held  at 
stated  times.  With  respect  to  these,  as  to  other  matters  of  Church 
government,  there  was  a  gradual  decline  of  the  influence  and  rights 
of  the  laity,  and  a  growing  power  of  the  clergy.  The  Decline  of  lay 
laity,  who  were  at  first  important  factors  of  the  syn-  tafluence. 
odical  assemblies,  were  of  little  influence  after  the  middle  of  the 


414    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

third  century;  and  by  the  beginning  of  the  fourth,  the  composition 
of  the  councils  was  restricted  to  the  three  orders  of  the  clergy. 
Among  these  the  influence  of  the  presbyters  declined  more  and 
more,  and  the  autliority  of  the  bishops  soon  J)eciuue  almost  exclu- 
sive and  supreme. 

A  further  attempt  at  preserving  the  unity  of  the  Church  is  the 
Metropolitan  extension  of  the  council  to  include  the  ecclesiastical  au- 
synods.  thorities  of  a  diocese  or  a  patriarchate.     Usually  these 

were  convoked  by  the  metropolitan  or  patriarch,  and  had  reference 
to  interests  touching  a  wider  district  or  territory.'  In  these  councils 
Tberepresenta-  the  principle  of  representation  seems  to  have  been  recog- 
tive  principle,  nised  to  a  considerable  extent,  since  the  third  Council 
of  Carthage,  A.  D.  398,  by  its  canons  provided  for  the  presence  of 
three  bishops  from  every  African  province  excej^ting  Tripoli,  which 
could  send  but  one  on  account  of  the  small  number  of  its  bishops. 

Of  still  greater  significance  were  the  oecumenical  or  general 
(Ecumenical  councils,  wliich  purposed  to  include  in  their  numbers 
councils.  representatives  from  the  widest  possible  areas  of  Chris- 

tendom. An  extraordinary  exigency  only  could  lead  to  the  assem- 
bly of  such  body;  a  widespread  agitation  as,  for  example,  that 
resulting  from  the  Arian  controversy,  or  some  general  interest,  was 
the  occasion  of  its  meeting. 

The  authority  to  convoke  the  councils  varied  with  the  times  and 
Who  assembled  the  character  of  the  council  itself.  When  it  was  of  a 
the  councils?  district,  the  bishop  assembled  the  elders,  deacons,  and 
people;  when  of  a  diocese  or  province,  the  metropolitan  or  patri- 
arch; when  oecumenical,  it  was  usually  by  imperial  edict,  with  the 
advice  and  approval  of  the  chief  bishops.^  The  bishops'  or  metro- 
politans' circular  letters  for  summoning  the  council  went  under  the 
name  synocUcoe  or  tractorice;  those  of  the  emperors,  sacrce.     The 

bishop  presided  in  the  district  council,  the  metropolitan 
Who  presided?  ^  .^       ,    .       ,  •      •   i       ,  m      /  i  •, 

or  patriarch  in  the  provincial,  while  the  general  councils 

were  under  the  nominal  control  of  the  emperor  or  his  representa- 
tive; but  the  presidents  proper,  Trpoedpoi,  were  usually  chosen  from 
the  most  influential  and  venerable  members.^     The  council  delib- 


'  V.  Bickell:    Op.  cit,  2"^  Lief.,  cap.  14. 

^  The  delegates  to  an  oecumenical  council  sometimes  journeyed  at  the  public  ex- 
pense. V.  Eusebius :  Be  Vita  Const,  iii,  6,  tor  an  account  of  this  in  case  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Nicaea. 

^  Eusebius,  Sozomen,  and  Socrates  agree  in  saying,  that  in  the  Council  of  Nicsea 
Hosius  of  Cordova,  Alexander  of  Alexandria,  Eustathius  of  Antiocli,  Macarius  of 
Jerusalem,  and  Vitus  and  Vincentius,  the  vicars  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  were  the 
chief  presidents. 


SYNODS  AND  COUNCILS  AND  THEIR  AUTHORITY.         415 

eratcti  and  decided  respecting  matters  of  Church  government,  dis- 
cipline, doctrine,  and  worship.  At  the  same  time  it  subjects  con- 
constituted  a  court  before  which  the  clergy  or  the  laity  sidered. 
could  bring  charges  against  the  bishops  or  others.  In  the  provin- 
cial councils  such  complaints  were  usually  lodged  with  the  arch- 
deacon of  the  metropolitan  church,  who,  in  turn,  brought  them  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  council. 

The  early  method  of  balloting  was  by  heads,  the  method  of  mo- 
tions not  having  been  introduced  until  late  in  the  Middle 
Ages.     The  latter  was  regarded  as  justifiable  only  in  jng. 
extraordinary  emergencies. 

Decrees  of  fpcuraenical   councils  were  sometimes  of  the   nature 

of   laws,    which    the    emperors  enforced.     Constantine    ^  ^ 

'  ^  .  ^,  Enforcement  of 

regarded  the  decisions  of  the  Council  of  Nice  as  obliga-  conciiiarydeci- 
tory  on  the  subjects  of  the  empire,  and  hence  punished  ®^°°^' 
non-subscription  by  exile.  Like  action  was  taken  by  Theodosius 
the  Great  respecting  the  decrees  of  the  Constantinopolitan  council, 
by  Theodosius  II.  respecting  the  decisions  of  the  Council  of  Ephe- 
sus,  and  by  Marcian  regarding  those  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon, 
in  A.  D.  451. 

In  matters  of  discipline,  it  seems  that  the  decisions  of  the 
councils  were  not  unalterable.  In  respect  to  articles  was  their  deci- 
of  faith,  the  principle  holding  seemed  to  be  that  it  was  sion  binding? 
not  the  prerogative  of  a  council  to  enlarge  or  extend  the  boun- 
daries of  faith,  but  to  confirm,  establish,  and  make  more  clear 
by  definition  what  had  been  the  doctrine  of  the  general  Church. 
The  decisions  might  be  abrogated,  even  with  regard  to  doctrines. 
Not  until  near  the  close  of  the  period  of  which  we  treat  did  con- 
ciliary  decisions  assume  an  authority  almost  equal  to  Scripture. 
Augustine,  Gregory  the  Great,  and  other  champions  Growing  au- 
of  the  Church,  while  not  yielding  the  supreme  author-  p^j^arT  °'deci- 
ity  of  the  Scriptures,  nevertheless  placed  much  stress  sions. 
upon  the  decrees  of  councils  as  expressive  of  the  opinion  of 
good  men  whom  God  had  promised  to  "  lead  into  all  truth."  So 
that  in  early  times  the  provincial  councils  imposed  their  decisions 
upon  those  within  their  jurisdiction  as  of  the  highest  .prudential 
worth,  and  the  general  councils  were  believed  to  have  formulated 
doctrine  under  such  favorable  circumstances  that  the  decisions 
were  looked  upon  as  of  great  moral  and  religious  value.  Hence 
we  find  that  the  Church  generally  accepted  the  decisions  of  the 
first  six  oecumenical  councils,  and  was  at  times  inclined  to  re- 
gard them  as  of  almost  equal  authority  with  the  Scriptures  them- 
selves. 


416    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

CHURCH     DISCIPLINE. 
§   1.    Reasons   and  Degrees  of  Punishment. 

The  Church  was  regarded  as  a  body  of  believers  on  Jesus  Christ, 
bound  together  by  a  fellowship  most  sacred,  for  the  promotion  of 
holiness  and  the  perfection  of  character  (1  Pet.  ii,  9,  10),  Its 
relations  and  duties  were  voluntarily  assumed;  its  obligations  were 
enforced  by  moral,  not  by  physical,  sanctions. 

The  object  of  Church  discipline,  exercised  as  it  was  only  upon 

.    members  of  its  own  communion,  was  to  preserve  purity 
Design    of  .  •  m  .  . 

Church  disci-    of  doctrine  and  life.'     The  apostolic   Church  imposed 

P''"*^'  but  one  condition  of  membership — faith  in  Jesus  as  the 

risen  Lord,  and  baptism  into  the  name  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost.  Nevertheless,  this  Church  had  the  clear  sanction  of  an 
apostle  for  maintaining  sound  discipline  (1  Cor.  v;  2  Cor.  ii;  Col. 
ii,  5;  Clement.  Rom.,  Ep.  i,  ad  Cor.,  c.  44);  and  the  apostolic 
fathers  are  explicit  in  the  inculcation  of  ecclesiastical  order.  From 
the  earliest  years  of  Christianity  two  parties  existed  in  the  Church, 
whose  views  of  discipline  were  oppugnant  and  wellnigh  irrecon- 
cilable. One  looked  upon  a  fixed  and  definite  ecclesiastical  order 
as  the  necessary  condition  of  the  successful  extension  of  Christi- 
anity; the  other  regarded  these  outward  institutions  as  limitations 
of  the  free  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and  emphasized  the  fact  that  the 
power  of  the  invisible  Church  is  her  spiritual  life,  and  not  her  for- 
mal organization.  These  two  parties  continued  in  the  Church. 
They  were  in  conflict  through  the  first  six  centuries.' 

Catechumenical  training,  which  was  judged  to  be  a  necessary 
Catechumeni-  Condition  of  the  admission  of  Gentile  converts,  must 
?ater™instftu-»  ^®  regarded  as  a  provision  of  the  Church  after  she  had 
tion.  lost  the  glow  of  love  felt  by  the  first  disciples,  and  had 

experienced  the  contaminating  influences  of  association  with  a  de- 
praved heathenism.  Such  preparatory  training  was  deemed  a  wisely 
prudential  measure  to  guard  the  Church  against  the  influx  of  the 
worldly  and  unsaved. 

'  V.  Bickell:   Geschichte  des  Kirchenrechtes,  2'*  Lief.,  ss.  62-71. 
'^  V.  Neander:  Antignosticus,  ss.  340,  341. 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE.  417 

But  by  as  much  more  as  the  conditions  of  membership  were  more 
stringent,  by  so  much  more  did  the  guardians  of  the  Church  feel  the 
necessity  of  a  rigorous  discipline.  The  subscription  to  and  observ- 
ance of  the  one  rule  of  faith,  regula  fidei,  which  was  ,^-^^  reguia 
common  to  all  the  churches,  was  the  sole  test  of  ortho-  O'l^*- 
doxy.  This  one  rule  was  expressed  in  the  articles  of  faith,  or  the 
creeds,  which  the  early  Church  had  formulated.  He  who  held  these 
in  an  honest  mind  and  pure  heart  was  a  worthy  member  of  the 
Church ;  he  who  denied  them,  or  whose  life  was  not  ^he  one  stand- 
regulated  by  them,  was  heretical  or  unworthy.  The  ^^rd. 
latter  were  to  be  exscinded  from  the  body  of  the  Church  in  order 
to  preserve  its  purity  and  peace. 

It  is  not  possible  to  determine  the  exact  time  when  the  right  and 
prerogative  of  discipline  came  to  be  almost  exclusively  exercised  by 
the  bishops,  nor  can  the  precise  behavior  of  the  Church  respecting  the 
punishment  of  offenders  during  the  first  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
be  clearly  determined.  It  is,  however,  certain  that  the  church  disci- 
deprivation  of  privileges  in  the  Church  had  no  reference  no^oss  "Tcivn 
to  the  rights  of  an  offender  as  a  subject  of  the  state,  rights. 
Only  at  a  later  period,  in  cases  where  the  holding  and  use  of  the 
property  of  the  Church  was  in  question,  or  in  cases  of  pertinacious 
disturbers,  was  the  authority  of  the  civil  law  invoked.' 

Church  discipline  proper  had  respect  to  several  degrees  of  offence 
and  punishment.  The  Church  was,  therefore,  compelled  to  discrim- 
inate between  the  characters  of  violators  of  its  laws,  sins  venial  and 
This  led  to  the  classification  of  sins  as  venial  and  mor-  mortal, 
tal.'  The  penalty  of  the  former  consisted  in  either  admonition  and 
temporary  suspension,  or  the  lesser  excommunication  Admonition 
(d(popiaiJ,6g).  The  latter  consisted  in  withholding  from  excommunl- 
those  under  the  ban  of  the  Church  its  special  privileges,  cation, 
as  partaking  of  the  eucharist,  etc.  Such  were  not,  however,  ex- 
cluded from  the  ordinary  ministrations  and  public  services. 

The  greater  excommunication  was  visited  upon  more  heinous 
offenders,  or  those,  generally,  who  were  guilty  of  mortal   „^ 

'  _  '_°  *■  '  .       .  The       greater 

sins.     It  consisted  in  a  complete  exscinding  of  members  excommunica- 
from  the  body  of  the  Church,  and,  therefore,  from  all 

'  Reference  is  not  here  had  to  later  civil  enactments  for  the  punishment  of  heresy 
and  sedition.  Concillary  action  was  taken  against  such  presbyters,  or  bishops,  as 
were  disturbers  of  the  peace  by  setting  up  new  churches  in  opposition  to  the  reg- 
ular authorities.  Later,  the  civil  power  was  invoked  to  suppress  such  agitators. 
This  does  not,  however,  strictly  pertain  to  Cliurch  discipline. 

"^  V.  TertuUian:  de  pudiciiia,  c.  19.  Peccata  mortalia  and  Peccata  venialia.  He- 
reckons  seven  mortal  sins  :  heresy  and  schism,  idolatry,  fraud,  denial  of  Christ,  blas- 
phemy, homicide,  and  fornication. 


418    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

its  privileges  and  associations.  When  the  anathema  was  uttered, 
the  offender  was  regarded  as  one  to  be  shunned  by  all  the  faithful, 
and  absolutely  deprived  of  all  that  was  distinctive  of  the  Christian 
Church,  including  the  rites  of  Christian  burial.  This  penalty  was 
executed  against  both  sexes,  the  rich  and  poor,  the  subject  and  the 
ruler,'  alike;  in  this  regard  the  Christian  discipline  was  characteris- 
Notice  given  to  tically  rigid.  Notice  of  such  greater  excommunication 
other  churches,  ^as  generally  given  to  other  churches,  and  they  were 
expected  to  concur  in  the  decision,  on  the  theory  of  the  unity  of 
the  Church,  and,  therefore,  for  the  sake  of  the  general  good.^  All 
were  forbidden  to  receive  such  excommunicate  persons;  and,  by  fre- 
quent conciliary  enactment,  any  bishop  thus  receiving  and  harbor- 
ing the  exscinded  should  himself  be  regarded  as  cut  off  from  the 
Church,' 

The  genera]  Church  did  not,  however,  regard  the  effect  of  even 
not     n      *^^  greater  excommunication  as  annulling  the  benefits 
the  benefits  of  of  baptism;  SO  that  when  the  most  heinous  offenders 
ap  ism.  sought   readmission    into   the    Church   they   were   not 

required  to  be  rebaptized.  This  was  contrary  to  the  method  of 
the  Donatists,  who  often  received  excommunicate  persons  into  their 
fellowship  by  declaring  them  purified  by  a  rebaptism,  which  this 
sect  freely  practised. 

No  one  was  excommunicated  without  a  hearing  and  a  formal  con- 
Right  of  ap-  viction;  any  hasty  or  unwarranted  action  of  a  bishop 
psai-  was  liable  to  review  before  a  provincial  synod,  to  which 

the  aggrieved  party  had  the  right  of  appeal.  This  was  judged  of 
such  importance  that  canons  to  this  effect  were  enacted  by  various 
councils.* 

§  2.  Penitential  Discipline. 

While  the  persecutions  of  the  Church  were  not  continuous,  and 
never  absolutely  universal,  and  while  some  emperors,  as  Gallienus, 
showed  many  favors  to  the  Christians,  going  so  far  as  to  declare  to 
the  bishops  that  it  was  his  will  that  they  should  be  undisturbed  in 

'  The  well  known  example  of  the  action  of  Ambrose  toward  Theodosius  the  Great, 
as  related  by  Theodoret,  is  very  instructive,  not  only  as  illustrating  the  firmness  of  a 
Christian  bishop,  but  also  the  feelings  of  a  great  emperor  respecting  the  fearfuluess 
of  the  ban  of  the  Church. 

'  V.  Probst :  Kirchliche  Disciplin  in  den  drei  ersten  christlichen  Jahrhunderten, 
Tiibingen,  1873,  s.  402. 

^  V.  Canons  2,  4,  and  5  of  the  Council  of  Antioch ;  Canon  2,  of  the  second  Council 
of  Cartilage;  also  Canon  13  of  the  Canon.  Apost. 

^  V.  Canon  5,  Council  of  Nice :  Canons  8  and  10  of  the  second  Council  of  Carthage ; 
Canon  6  of  the  Council  of  Antioch,  et  al. 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE.  419 

their  ministrations,  the  ban,  under  which  Christianity  as  a  religio 
illicita  rested,  was  not  lifted.  It  was  still  a  penal  offence  to  be  a 
Christian;  and  all  the  dangers  and  hardships  which  such  legal  dis- 
ability implied  constantly  impended  over  the  Church.  It  is  not, 
therefore,  strange  that  during  the  sharp  visitations  of  persecution 
temptations  to  deny  Christ  and  to  offer  to  idols  were 
most  powerful.     This  strain  was  especially  severe  dur-  ^"^^^ 

ing  the  Decian  persecutions,  when  multitudes  fell  away  from  the 
Church  through  the  malignity  and  subtle  devices  of  this  emperor 
and  his  successors  to  Gallienus.  The  provisions  of  the  early  Church 
for  the  return  of  the  lapsed  gave  rise  to  a  complicated  system  of 
penitential  discipline. 

The  rigorous  discipline  of  the  Novatians  had  refused  readmission 
to  those  who  were  guilty  of  mortal  sins.  Only  in  the  hour  and  article 
of  death  could  they  hope  tliat  the  ban  of  the  Church  might  be 
removed.  Also  Cyprian,  in  the  earlier  portion  of  his  administration, 
had  been  inclined  to  use  great  severity  in  dealing  with  those  who 
had  lapsed  from  the  faith  {lapsi)  during  the  Decian  persecutions. 
But  in  Rome  and  elsewhere  more  lenient  provisions  were  made  for 
their  return  to  the  Church  through  a  system  of  penance  which  must 
be  heartily  accepted  and  practised  by  the  offender.  The  reason  of 
this  imposition  was  that  the  Church  might  be  assured  of  the  sincere 
penitence  and  reform  of  the  lapsed  who  was  seeking  admission. 

A  further  necessity  for  this  was  felt  by  the  Church  from  the  fact 
that  many  attempts  to  interfere  with  the  regular  discipline  of  the 
Church  had  been  made.  Especially  those  who  had  gained  peculiar 
sanctity  by  suffering  for  the  truth's  sake  abused  their  influence  by 
granting  certificates  of  peace  or  reconciliation  without  confession 
or  the  assurance  of  penitence.  This  caused  great  discontent  on 
the  part  of  such  as  had  remained  steadfast,  and  discipline  was 
thus  seriously  threatened.  To  save  the  Church  from  disorder  and  to 
maintain  her  purity  four  orders  of  penitents  were  recognised  as  early, 
probably,  as  the  middle  of  the  third  century.  These  Four  orders  of 
were  known  among  the  Latins  as  flentes,  or  weepers;  penitents. 
audientes,  or  hearers;  siihstrati,  or  kneelers;  and  consisfentes,  or 
co-standers.'  The  first  fell  upon  their  faces,  imploring  the  prayers 
of  the  Church  in  their  behalf,  and  that  they  might  be  admitted 
to  the  first  apartment  of  the  church.      Then  properly  their  pen- 

'  V.  St.  Basil :  Can.  22,  et  al.  The  first  year  they  are  to  weep  before  the  gate  of 
the  church  ;  the  second  year,  to  be  admitted  to  hearing ;  the  third  year,  to  bending 
the  knee,  or  repentance ;  the  third  year,  to  stand  with  the  faithful  at  prayers,  but 
not  partake  of  the  oblation.  To  the  same  effect  are  the  teachings  of  Ambrose  and 
other  fathers. 


420    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

ance  began.  When  they  were  thus  admitted  to  become  hear- 
ers, permission  was  granted  them  to  listen  to  the  Scriptures  and 
the  sermon,  but  they  were  excluded  from  the  more  private  and 
sacred  portions  of  the  service.'  The  length  of  time  they  were  to 
continue  in  this  order  was  made  the  subject  of  repeated  conciliary 
action."  This  depended  upon  the  nature  of  the  offence,  and  the 
character  of  the  offender.  The  third  order,  suhstrati,  or  genu- 
Jlectentes,  were  so  named  from  the  fact  that  they  were  permitted 
to  fall  on  their  knees,  and  remain  as  participants  in  the  common 
prayers,  and  to  hear  the  prayers  offered  for  them  by  the  congre- 
gation and  the  bishop.  While  the  hearers  were  restricted  to  the 
narthex  or  vestibule  of  the  church  building,  the  third  order  were  ad- 
mitted to  the  interior,  near  the  ambo,  or  reading-desk.  The  fourth 
order  of  penitents,  the  consistentes,  or  co-standers,  were  allowed  "  to 
stand  with  the  faithful  at  the  altar,  and  join  in  the  common  prayers, 
and  see  the  oblation  offered;  but  yet  might  neither  make  their  own 
oblations,  nor  partake  of  the  eucharist  with  them." ' 

At  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  the  Oriental  churches  ap- 
.  pointed  a  special  presbyter  to  regulate  the  conduct  of 
tentiai  presby-  penitential  discipline  [presbyter  pcenitentiarhis).  But 
^^'  on  account  of  the  continuous  restiveness  felt  by  the 

private  members,  in  their  more  public  life,  and  through  the  interfer- 
ence of  the  state,  this  special  office  was  abrogated  near  the  close  of 
the  fourth  century.  Likewise,  on  the  cessation  of  persecutions,  the 
practice  of  orderly  penitential  discipline  fell  into  disuse, 
penitential  sys-  and  Church  life  became  more  free  and  unconstrained. 
**™'  Also  in  the  West,  under  like  general  conditions  and  at 

about  the  same  time,  the  system  was  so  modified  that  only  for  more 
open  and  public  crimes  was  public  penance  imposed,  while  for  other 
offences  a  private  confession  to  the  clergy  was  judged  sufficient.* 
From  this  came  gross  abuses  in  practice  (auricular  confession,  indul- 
gences, etc.)  and  dangerous  innovations  in  Christian  doctrine  (work 
righteousness,  etc.). 

The  readmission  to  the  Church,  after  the  period  of  penance,  was 
Ceremony  of  often  accompanied  with  much  imposing  ceremonial, 
readmission.  The  absolution  pronounced  by  the  early  Church  was 
not,  however,  judicial.  The  prerogative  of  pardon  belonged  to 
God  alone. 

'Note  the  proclamation  of  the  deacon,  "  ^e  quis  audientium,  ne  quis  infidelium," 
etc.     Apost.  Constit,  1.  8,  c.  5. 

'  V.  Council  of  Nice,  Can.  11,  12,  and  canons  of  various  other  councils. 
^  V.  Bingham :  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church,  bk.  xviii,  chap.  i. 
*  V.  Guericke:  Lehrbuch  d.  ch.  kirch.  Archoeologie,  Berlin,  1859,  s.  109. 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE.  431 

As  there  were  stages  of  penitential  discipline,  so  were  there  vari- 
eties or  stages  of  absolution.  Bingham '  has  an-anged  j-jve  stages  of 
these  as  follows:  "1.)  The  absolution  or  great  indul-  absolution, 
gence  of  baptism.  2.)  The  absolution  of  the  eucharist.  3.)  The 
absolution  of  the  word  and  doctrine.  4.)  The  absolution  of  imposi- 
tion of  hands  and  prayer.  5.)  The  absolution  of  reconcilement  to 
the  Church  and  her  communion  by  a  relaxation  of  her  censures. 
The  two  first  may  be  called  sacramental  absolution;  the  third,  de- 
claratory absolution;  the  fourth,  precatory  absolution;  the  fifth, 
judicial  absolution;  and  all  of  them  authoritative,  so  far  as  they  are 
done  by  the  ministerial  authority  and  commission  which  Christ  has 
given  to  his  Church,  to  reconcile  men  to  God  by  the  exercise  of  such 
acts  and  means  as  conduce  to  that  end  in  a  subordinate  and  minis- 
terial way,  according  to  his  appointment." 

The  early  Church  was  careful  in  its  treatment  of  the  excommuni- 
cate. It  never  claimed  the  absolute  prerogative  of  par-  care  of  the  ear- 
don,  nor  arrogated  the  power  to  exclude  the  offender  ^y  Church. 
from  final  salvation,  nor  to  limit  the  forgiving  mercy  of  God.  The 
acts  of  the  Church  were  purely  ministerial,  exercised  to  guard  its 
purity  of  doctrine  and  life.  The  original  system  of  Respecting 
penance  had  no  respect  to  merit,  but  was  purely  penal,  pardon, 
disciplinary,  and  reformatory.''  Auricular  confession,  merit  of  good 
works,  and  indulgences  were  abuses  which  appeared  during  a  sub- 
sequent period  of  the  history  of  the  Church. 

§  3.  Discipline  of  the  Clergy. 
If  the  early  Church  was  stringent  in  its  discipline  of  the  laity,  its 

treatment  of  clerical  offences  was  still  more  severe.^     A   ,,       ,  .       . 

More  stnngent 

distinction  was  made  between  the  discipline  of  the  cler-  than  lay  disci- 
gy  and  that  of  the  laity.  A  clergyman  might  be  excom-  ^^'°®* 
municated  from  his  office,  with  its  honours  and  emoluments,  and  yet 
be  permitted  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the  Church  conceded  to  the 
laity.  In  case  of  flagrant  crimes  the  excision  was,  how-  penalties  in- 
ever,  absolute.  The  penalties  suffered  by  the  clergy  fl'cted. 
generally  had  respect  to  their  means  of  support,  their  oflice,  or  to 
their  persons,  in  case  of  corporal  punishment;  so  that  the  depriva- 
tion of  their  incomes  was  for  lesser  offences,  the  degradation  from 

oflice   to   the    condition  of   laymen    for   more   heinous   ^        _,  , 

-'  Deposed  clergy 

crimes.    In  the  latter  case  the  deposed  clergy  were  rarely  rarely  reinstat- 

reinstated;  hence  the  indelible  character  of  ordination  ^  * 

could    not   have   been   the  governing   doctrine."      The  infrequent 

'  Op.  cit.:  bk.  xix,  pp.  1085,  seq.  ^  Probst:    Op.  cit.,  s.  401. 

^  Probst:    Op.  cit,  s.  403.  ••  Probst:    Op.  cit.,  ss.  407,  408. 


422    ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CONSTITUTION  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

infliction   of   corporal   punishment  was   generally   conlined  to  the 

inferior  clergy;  but  in   criminal  causes  the  superior  clergy,  after 

degradation  from  their  office,  were  also  liable  to  the  same.' 

The  ancient  Church,  through  its  conciliary  canons,  exercised  a 

,     .        most  vigilant  oversight  over  its  clergy,  and  defined  with 
Ancient  disci-  °  °  ^       oj  ^ 

piine    whole-  great  clearness  the  offences  which  should  be  shunned, 
^^^'  and  the  punishment  to  be  inflicted  upon  wilful  violators 

of  the  law.     Usually  these  provisions  were  eminently  wholesome 
and  just. 

'  Justin.  Novel,  123,  cap.  20.     Corporal  punishment  seems  to  have  been  a  later 
infliction. 


BOOK  THIRD 


THE 


Sacraments  and  Worship  of  the  Early  Christian  Church. 


THE    SACRAMENTS 


AND 


WORSHIP  OF  THE  EARLY  CHURCH. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  apostles  recognised  two  sacraments  as  instituted  by  Christ; 
they  celebrated  these  with  joy,  and  imposed  them  as  obligatory 
upon  all  who  would  be  disciples  of  the  new  faith.  The  deeper  sig- 
nificance of  the  Christian  sacraments  is  manifest,  although  existing 
forms  were  employed  for  teaching  their  prof ounder  truths.  What 
under  the  former  dispensation  was  a  type,  found  in  Christ  and  the 
sacraments  which  he  instituted  its  true  antitype;  the  prophecy  of 
good  things  to  come  was  herein  fulfilled;  the  circumcision  which 
was  outward  in  the  flesh  was  to  yield  to  the  true  circumcision  of  the 
heart,  in  the  spirit  and  not  in  the  letter  (Rom.  ii,  28,  29).  Christ, 
the  true  Passover,  was  to  be  sacrificed  once  for  all  for  men,  and 
henceforth  the  feast  was  to  be  kept  not  with  the  old  leaven,  neither 
with  the  leaven  of  malice  and  wickedness,  but  with  the  unleavened 
bread  of  sincerity  and  truth  (1  Cor.  v,  7,  8). 

The  Eastern  Church  characterized  all  holy  or  incomprehensible 
truths  or  offices  as  mysteries,  fivoTrjpia,  and  the  Latins,  in  their  trans- 
lations of  the  Scriptures,  generally  used  the  term  sacrament,  sacra- 
mentum,  as  the  appropriate  synonym.  Hence  the  Christian  fathers 
of  the  second  and  third  centuries  confound  the  sacraments  proper 
with  all  sacred  rites  connected  with  the  institutions  of  the  Church. 
At  other  times  they  designate  each  step  or  stage  in  the  celebration 
of  baptism,  or  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  a  sacrament.  Hence  the  an- 
ointing with  oil  in  baptism,  and  the  act  of  confirmation,  are  often 
called  sacraments.  Cyprian  insists  upon  both  sacraments,  washing 
of  water  and  the  imposition  of  hands,  as  necessary  to  the  complete 
sanctification  of   the    believer; '    and    Optatus    speaks    in    similar 

*  Ep.  ad  Steph. 


426        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

manner  of  washing,  anointing,  and  confirmation  as  three  sacraments. 
Probably,  however,  by  this  term  they  include  no  more  than  was 
imijlied  in  the  Greek  fj.vor'qpiov,  mystery.' 

The  Christian  writers  of  the  fourth  century  continue  to  attach  to 
the  tei*m  a  very  vague  and  indefinite  meaning.  The  works  of  the 
great  theologians,  Ambrose,  Hilary,  and  Leo,  fail  to  define  with 
clearness,  to  agree  in  the  number  of  the  sacraments,  or  to  give  the 
rationale  of  their  operation;  in  Augustine  is  first  met  an  attempt 
to  thus  define,  and  to  explain.  His  definition  would  allow  of  the 
recognition  of  an  indefinite  number,  since  he  did  not  limit  the  term 
to  that  which  had  the  express  sanction  and  command  of  Christ. 

Thus  the  number  of  sacraments  remained  undetermined  during 
the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  but  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per were  by  all  parties  considered  the  chief  and  indispensable.  It 
was  the  almost  universal  opinion  in  both  East  and  West  that  these 
were  necessary  to  salvation,  inasmuch  as  they  were  the  appointed 
means  of  grace;  nevertheless,  the  Church  did  not  deny  salvation 
to  those  who  by  extraordinary  devotion,  or  by  a  martyr's  death 
witnessed  for  Christ.  In  such  cases  the  "baptism  of  blood"  took 
the  place  of  water  baptism.  The  order  of  the  succession  of  the 
sacraments  was  generally  recognised.  Baptism  preceded  the  Lord's 
Slipper,  and  was  the  necessary  preparation  for  it. 

'  The  ante-Nicene  fathers  apply  the  term  mystery  to  all  which  is  in  any  way  re- 
lated to  the  Godhead,  or  to  the  revelation  of  the  same.  They  include  in  this  the 
doctrine  of  revelation,  and  even  the  subject  of  symbolism,  which  is  considered  mys- 
terious and  sacred.  This  appears  especially  in  a  number  of  passages  of  Tertullian 
and  Irenaeus.  The  following  from  Irenaeus  may  illustrate  their  views:  "But  it  is 
more  suitable  that  we,  directing  our  inquiries  after  this  fashion,  should  exercise  our- 
selves in  the  investigation  of  tlie  mystery  and  administration  of  the  living  God,  and 
should  increase  in  the  love  of  him  who  has  done,  and  still  does,  so  great  things  for 
us.  .  .  .  We  should  leave  things  of  that  nature  to  God,  who  created  us,  being  most 
properly  assured  that  the  Scriptures  are  indeed  perfect,  since  they  were  spoken  by 
the  Word  of  God  and  his  Spirit;  but  we,  inasmuch  as  we  are  inferior  to,  and  later  in 
existence  than,  the  Word  of  God  and  his  Spirit,  are  on  that  very  account  destitute 
of  the  knowledge  of  his  mysteries.  ...  If,  therefore,  even  with  respect  to  creation, 
there  are  some  things  which  belong  only  to  God,  .  .  .  what  ground  is  there  for  com- 
plaint, if  in  regard  to  those  things  which  we  investigate  in  the  Scriptures  (which  are 
throughout  spiritual),  we  are  able  by  the  grace  of  God  to  explain  some  of  them,  while 
we  must  leave  others  in  the  hands  of  God,"  etc.     Advers.  Hceres.,  ii,  28,  1-3. 


THE    SACRAMENT   OF    BAPTISM.  437 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM. 

§  1.  Tlie   Origin  and  the  Idea. 

We  are  met  at  the  opening  of  the  Gospels  with  John's  baptism: 
"Then  went  out  to  him  Jerusalem,  and  all  Juclea,  and  all  the  region 
round  about  Jordan,  and  were  baptized  of  him  in  Jor-  John's  bap- 
dan,  confessing  their  sins"  (Matt,  iii,  5,  6).  Whence  'J^m. 
did  John  derive  the  rite  of  baptism,  and  why  was  this  piactised 
in  connection  with  the  turning  of  the  people  from  their  sins  ? 

John's  baptism  roots  itself  in  the  Old  Testament  purifications 
and  lustrations,  with  which  all  the  Jews  were  familiar.  This  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  purification  of  the  Levites  (Num.  viii,  V):  ™ 
"And  thus  shalt  thou  do  unto  them,  to  cleanse  them:  dents  of  John's 
Sprinkle  water  of  purifying  upon  them,  and  let  them  '^'^p''®"^- 
shave  all  their  flesh,  and  let  them  wash  their  clothes,  and  so  make 
themselves  clean."  Also  by  Ezekiel  (xxxvi,  25):  "Then  will  I 
sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean :  from  all 
your  filthiness,  and  from  all  your  idols,  will  I  cleanse  you."  The 
same  idea  is  elsewhere  frequently  expressed  throughout  the  Old 
Testament: '  a  moral  renewal  accompanied  by  the  symbolical  oiit- 
ward  application  of  water.  It  is  not  John's  baptism  which  is  a 
pattern  for  Christ's  baptism,  but  rather  John's  baptism  and  Christ's 
baptism  have  their  common  root  in  the  prophetical  cleansing. 

Mark  describes  John's  baptism  as  of  "repentance  for  remission 
of  sins."     The  entire  population  respond  to  the  preaching  of  the 
Baptist,  they  are  baptized  in  the  river  Jordan,  and  the 
condition  for  receiving  this  baptism  is  the  confession     John's  bap- 
and  renunciation  of  their  sins — "  change  of  mind  for  the     *'^™* 
forgiveness  of  sins  "  (jSaTrriOfia  neravoia^  elg  dcpeaiv  dfiapricov) .   John 
aftirms  that  his  baptism  is  but  the  prelude  to  a  higher  and  mightier 
baptism — with  "  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire." 

In  the  commission  given  to  the  disciples  by  Christ  we  have  the 
foundation  of  Christian  baptism:  "Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  dis- 
ciples of  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 

'  Isa.  xliv,  3  ;  Zeoh.  xiii,  1. 
28 


428       SACRAMENTS   AND   WORSHIP   OF   EARLY   CHURCH. 

of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost"  (Matt,  xxviii,  19).  John  rec- 
ognized the  difference  between  his  baptism  and  that  of  Christ  (Matt, 
iii,  11;  Mark  i,  8;  Luke  iii,  16;  John  i,  33).  John's  disciples  were 
Christ's  bap-  evidently  ignorant  of  the  greater  baptism,  not  so  much 
tism.  as  having  heai'd   "  whether  there  be  a  Holy   Ghost." 

John's  baptism  was  with  water  unto  repentance,  Christ's  baptism 
superadded  "  the  Holy  Ghost "  and  "  fire."  John's  baptism  was 
preparatory,  temporary,  and  limited  in  its  area;  Christ's  baptism 
was  permanent  and  for  all  nations  [fiadrjrevaaTe  -ndvra  tcl  edvrj).  The 
command  of  Christ  elevates  his  baptism  into  a  sacrament. 

The  acknowledgment  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  the  sent  of  God, 

was  the  sole  article  of  belief  uniting  the  first  believers  in  a  distinct 

community.     Baptism  was  a  sign  and  seal  of  this  belief, 

e  ormua.  ^^^  •^2i&,  therefore,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  thus  ratify- 
ing the  union  of  the  believer  with  him  as  the  Messiah.'  Probably 
no  other  formula  was  at  first  used,  since  this  name  was  believed  to 
imply  a  complete  divinity,  and  these  words  to  comprehend  all 
things  necessary  to  citizenship  in  the  kingdom  which  Christ  was  to 
establish.  But  the  full  formula  contained  in  the  commission  of 
Christ  was  soon  used,  and  afterward  was  regarded  as  essential  in 
the  administration  of  the  rite.'* 

Those  who  accepted  Christian  baptism  were  required  to  turn 
Necessary  con-  away  from  their  sins  and  to  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  the 
ditions.  Messiah  (Acts  ii,  38).     They  then  received  through  the 

Holy  Spirit  a  renewal  in  spiritual  life,  a  new  birth  unto  righteous- 
ness (Titus  iii,  5).  Faith  as  a  necessary  prerequisite  to  baptism  is 
involved. 

§  2.  Nature  of  the  Evidence. 

In  ascertaining  what  Christian  archaeology  teaches  concerning  the 
Literary  and  administration  of  the  rite  of  Christian  baptism  wc  must 
monunieatai  summon  the  literary  and  the  monumental  evidence, 
evidence.  y^^  must  first  examine  the  concrete  instances  of  Chris- 

tian baptism  which  are  narrated  in  the  New  Testament. 

The  first  case  which  meets  us  is  that  of  the  multitude  who  were 
baptized  and  received  into  the  Church  at  the  conclusion  of  Peter's 
Baptism  of  the  gi'^^^t  sermon  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  (Acts  ii,  41). 
three  thousand   "  Then  they  that  gladly  received  his  word  were  baptized: 

en  ecos .  ^^^  ^^  same  day  there  were  added  unto  them  about 
three  thousand  souls."     The  entire  context  leads  to  the  conclusion 

'  V.  Neandcr:  Planting  and  Traitmig,  etc.,  Ryland's  trans.,  p.  2*7. 

^  V.  Harnack :  Dogrnengeschichte,  Bd.  i.  He  claims  that  this  baptismal  confession 
was  first  recognised  as  an  apostolic  article  of  faith  about  A.  D.  150,  and  that  it  orig- 
inated  in  Rome,  and  not  in  the  East. 


THE    SACRAMENT   OF   BAPTISM.  429 

that  the  baptizing  and  reception  of  the  baptized  into  the  Church 
occurred  on  the  same  day.  The  language  is  very  explicit:  Ol  fiev 
ovv  anoSe^dfievoL  rbv  Xoyov  avrov  ej3a7TTi.odr]aav,  Kal  npoaeridrjaav  kv 
TTTj  'r]iJ'epct  eKeivxi  ipv^ai  coaei  rgioxt^i'di.  The  language  here  coincides 
with  the  practice  in  all  the  cases  of  baptism  recorded  in  the  New 
Testament,  the  baptism  following  forthwith  on  the  confession  of 
faith.  Meyer  well  remarks:  "The  text  does  not  affirm  that  the 
baptism  of  the  three  thousand  occurred  on  the  spot  and  simulta- 
neously, but  only  that  it  took  place  during  the  course  of  that  day."  ' 
The  query  as  to  the  mode  naturally  arises  here.  Zockler  holds  that 
the  rite  may  have  been  administered  by  different  aj^ostles  at  differ- 
ent places,  by  different  modes,  during  the  entire  day  or  subsequent 
days.^  That  it  was  deferred  to  "subsequent  days"  is  not  in  har- 
mony with  the  text,  as  above  indicated.  That  the  mode  Avas  varied 
and  such  as  to  be  quickly  administered  by  several  apostles  seems  to 
be  required  by  the  text. 

The  account  of  Philip's  preaching  in  Samaria  states  that  "  when 
they  believed  Philip  preaching  the  things  concerning  phmpiaSa- 
the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  name  of  Jesus  Clirist,  they  maria. 
were  baptized,  both  men  and  women"  (Acts  viii,  12).  Here  the 
confession  of  faith  and  the  baptism  seem  to  be  immediately  asso- 
ciated, and  both  men  and  women  are  baptized.  The  same  iinmedi- 
ateness  is  seen  in  the  baptism  of  the  euniach:  "And  as  they  went 
on  their  way,  they  came  unto  a  certain  water:  and  the  phiiip  and  the 
eunuch  said,  See,  here  is  water  ['iSov  v6u)g)  ;  what  eunuch, 
doth  hinder  me  to  be  baptized  ?  ,  .  .  And  they  went  down  both 
into  the  water,  both  Philip  and  the  eunuch;  and  he  bajDtized  him" 
(Acts  viii,  36,  38).  No  indication  is  here  given  as  to  the  act  of 
baptism  save  the  going  down  into  and  coming  out  of  the  water, 
which  is  affirmed  of  both.  The  language  used  is  equally  applicable 
to  immersion  or  affusion.  The  "water"  here  spoken  of  w^as,  in  all 
probability,  a  shallow  stream  or  brooklet  which,  like  the  Wady-el- 
Hesy  to-day,  near  Gaza,  is  almost  dry  in  summer,  but  is  a  rivulet 
in  the  springtime.  There  is  no  indication  as  to  the  mode  of  the 
baptism.^ 

The  baptism  of  Saul  took  ^^lace  in  the  house  of  Judas  at  Damas- 
cus.    It  followed  straightway  upon  his  receiving  the         Baptism  of 
new  light.     "Immediately  there  fell  from  his  eyes  as        saui. 
it  had  been  scales:  and  he  received  sight  forthwith,  and  arose,  and 

'  V.  H.  A.  W.  Meyer :  in  loco. 

*  Zockler:  Apostlegeschichie,  p.  164,  Nordlingen,  1886. 

*  For  the  use  of  the  preposition  in  this  case  v.  Rhys  R.  Lloyd:  Baptism  as  Taught 
iti  the  Scriptures,  Boston  and  New  York,  1897. 


430       SACRAMENTS   AND    WORSHIP   OF   EARLY    CHURCH. 

was  baptized"  (Acts  ix,  IS).  In  the  house  of  Judas,  as  to-day  in 
almost  every  house  in  Damascus,  there  was,  no  doubt,  a  fountain, 
but  scarcely  available  for  an  immersion  unless  entirely  different  in 
construction  from  the  fountains  in  common  use. 

The  Roman  centurion  and  those  believing  with  him  received  the 
Baptism  of  H^ly  Ghost  and  were  immediately  baptized  in  the  name 
Cornelius.  of  the  Lord.  The  baptism,  to  all  appearance,  took  place 
in  the  house  in  which  they  were  assembled,  and  in  immediate  con- 
nection with  their  confession  of  faith.  "  Then  answered  Peter, 
Can  any  man  forbid  water,  that  these  should  not  be  baptized,  which 
have  received  the  Holy  Ghost  as  well  as  we?  And  he  commanded 
them  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  "  (Acts  x,  46-48). 
Here  we  notice  the  union  of  "  water  "  and  of  the  "  Spirit,"  the  one 
sjanbolizing  the  other.  We  are  led  to  infer  that  Peter  himself 
did  not  administer  the  baptism.'  The  text  seems  to  suggest  that 
the  water  for  the  baptism  may  have  been  brought.  As  to  the  mode 
nothing  is  said. 

"  And  when  she  was  baptized,  and  her  household  (oiKog),  she  be- 
Lydia  and  her  sought  US "  (Acts  xvi,  15).  The  neighboring  river  af- 
houseboid.  forded  abundant  water.  Here  we  have  the  first  men- 
tion of  "  household  baptism."  We  are  not  told  who  were  included 
in  the  household.  A  natural  inference  would  include  all  members 
of  the  family,  even  the  children.  Aristotle,  in  his  Politics,  defines 
the  household:  "The  first  and  last  parts  of  a  household  are  master 
and  servant,  husband  and  wife,  father  and  children."  ^  In  the  bap- 
tism of  a  household  to  exclude  the  children  would  be  a  great  shock 
to  the  Jewish  Christian  especially.  The  Old  Testament  included 
children  in  its  covenant.  We  have  no  evidence  that  the  New 
Testament  excluded  them.  On  the  contrary,  the  spirit  of  the 
Saviour's  teaching  is  all  the  other  way. 

The  case  of  the  Philippian  jailer  does  not  A^ary  much  from  the 
The  jailer  and  preceding  in  its  main  features.  The  conviction,  the 
his  household,  conversion,  the  baptism  follow  in  speedy  succession : 
"  And  he  took  them  the  same  hour  of  the  night,  and  washed  their 
stripes;  and  Avas baptized,  he  and  all  his,  straightway  "  (Acts  xvi,  33). 
The  occurrence  is  at  midnight.  That  they  proceeded  forth  from 
the  prison  at  midnight  looking  for  water  is  exceedingly  improbable. 
The  baptism  was  in  all  probability  in  the  court  of  the  house,  and  was 
immediate.  The  water  brought  to  wash  the  stripes  might  also  serve 
for  the  baptism.     Here  we  notice  also  the  baptism  of  the  household. 

'  H.  A.  W.  Meyer;  in  loco. 

^  Politics,  i,  2,  p.  1259.  Ilpwra  6f  koL  tkaxicra  fieprj  o'lKlag  deoKOTf/g  Kai  dovXoi  Kai 
T:6ai(;  kcu  aAoxiK  '»'«'  trar^p  kul  rix^d,  etc. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM.  4ai 

Examining  these  seven  cases  we  lind  that  they  occurred  under 
various  circumstances:  in  Jerusalem;  twenty  miles  from  the  Jordan  ; 
in  the  hilly,  irrigated  region  of  Samaria;  in  the  wil-  Analysis  of  the 
derness,  or  dry  open  country  ;  in  private  houses;  by  the  cases. 
riverside  ;  at  midnight,  in  the  prison  court.  The  baptism  follows 
directly  on  confession  of  faith  ;  it  is  not  always  administered  by  the 
apostles  ;  households  are  baptized ;  the  same  term  is  used  in  each 
case,  (SaTTTf^w.  As  to  the  mode  nothing  is  said.  That  the  term  used 
stands  always  for  one  unvarying  mode  is  not  borne  out  by  the  nature 
of  the  term  nor  by  other  litei'ary  evidence.  The  word  is  a  generic 
term  with  the  general  idea  of  cleansing.'  The  variety  of  circum- 
stances excludes  the  probability  th.it  in  the  desert  wady,  as  by  the 
riverside,  there  was  always  the  facility  or  the  necessity  for  the  com- 
plete submersion  of  the  person.  T^ie  general  notion  of  purification 
must  from  the  very  beginning,  as  the  monumental  evidence  indi- 
cates, have  admitted  of  a  large  liberty  in  its  application. 

After  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament  the  most  important  wit- 
ness as  to  the  saci'ament  of  baptism  is  Tlie  Teaching  of  the  Twelve 
Ajyostles.  This  invaluable  document,  which  belongs  r^^g.  xeach- 
to  the  first  quarter  of  the  second  century,^  supplies  a  ins  of  the 
long-missing  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  between  the 
close  of  the  apostolic  age  and  Justin  Martyr  respecting  the  rites, 
polity,  and  life  of  the  Church.  It  also  furnishes  valuable  aid  in 
understanding  some  obscure  points  in  the  writings  of  Clement, 
Polycarp,  Barnabas,  and  Ignatius.  This  writing  is  believed  to  have 
originated  in  either  Syria  or  Egypt,  and  to  have  been  prepared  as 
a  sort  of  Church  manual,  as  well  as  a  catechism,  for  Jewish  cate- 
chumens.^    In  connection  with  valuable  teaching  respecting  Chris- 

'  It  is  maintained  by  Rliys  R.  Lloyd,  Baptism  as  Taught  in  the  Scriptures,  Boston 
and  Chicago,  1897,  that  the  ritualistic  meaning  of  the  word  [ianriCeiv  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  "  to  pour  forth ;  "  that  in  Jewish  custom  it  indicates  the  purification  of  men 
by  the  application  of  water  to  them,  and  that  this  is  the  use  of  the  term  by  John  the 
Baptist,  by  Jesus,  and  by  his  apostles,  v.  also  S.  M.  Merrill :  Christian  Baptism, 
New  York,  Eaton  &  Mains. 

'^  Sabatier:  La  Didache,  Paris,  1885,  places  the  composition  after  A.  D.  50. 
Bryennios,  Harnack,  and  others  place  it  between  A.  D.  120  and  A.  D.  165.  Lechler, 
Funk,  Zahn,  and  others  are  inclined  to  regard  it  as  a  production  of  the  first  century. 
The  English  and  American  critics  also  generally  place  it  in  the  first  century. 
Schaff  considers  it  probable  that  it  is  earlier  than  100  A.  D.  Also  Professor  Harris, 
in  The  Teaching  of  the  Apostles,  Baltimore  and  London,  1887,  holds  that  it  is  earlier 
than  the  writing  of  Jude,  and  older  than  the  Barnabas  epistle  which  quotes  from  it. 
This  would  throw  it  back  between  70  A.  D.  and  96  A.  D. 

^  Lechler  holds  tiiiit  this  i.s  true  only  of  the  second  part.  Funk  :  Doctrina  Duode- 
cem  Apostolornm,  Tubiugse.  1887,  "denies  the  Egyptian  and  maintains  the  Syrian  or 
Palestinian  origin." — Schaff. 


432         SACRAMENTS  AND  WOKSIIIP  OF  EAKLY  CHURCH. 

tian  life  it  speaks  of  the  appropriate  j^reparatioii  for  baptism,  and 
its  mode  of  administration,  as  follows: 

"Now  concerning  baptism,  thus  baptize  ye:  having  first  uttered 
Its  baptismal  all  these  things,  baptize  into  the  name  of  the  Father, 
teacbing.  ^^^^  q£  ^jjg  g^,j^^  g^^j  q£  ^}jg  Holy  Spirit,  in  living  Avater 

(ev  vdari  ^Cjvti).^  But  if  thou  hast  not  running  water,  baptize  into 
other  water  [eig  dXXo  vdwp),  and  if  thou  canst  not  in  cold,  in  warm. 
And  if  thou  hast  neither,  pour  out  water  upon  the  head  thrice,  into 
the  name  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.  And  before  the  baptism 
let  the  baptizer  fast  and  be  baptized,  and  whatever  others  are  able; 
but  the  baptized  thou  shalt  command  to  fast  for  one  or  two  days 
before." ' 

This  document,  only  a  generation  removed  from  the  death  of  the 

apostles,  if  not  written  during  the  lifetime  of  some,  plainly  teaches 

a  degree  of  liberty  in  the  mode  of  the  administration  of 

Conclusion.  v  mi  /  «      i  •   •  i        i      ,. 

baptism.  1  he  character  or  the  writing,  as  a  book  for 
catechumens  of  Jewish  origin,  would  certainly  exclude  the  supposi- 
tion that  this  alternative  mode  of  baptism  was  of  the  nature  of  an 
innovation;  besides,  it  is  easy  to  believe  that  at  the  time  of  its 
writing  there  were  still  living  in  Syria  or  Egypt  persons  who  were 
entirely  familiar  with  the  apostolic  practice.  Going  back  so  close 
to  the  apostolic  age,  it  must  certainly  reflect  the  practice  of  that 
period,  and  supports  the  conclusion  that  at  no  time  was  there  in 
the  early  Church  a  uniform  and  stereotyped  mode  of  baptism  which 
alone  was  considered  valid. 

§  3.    The   Testimony  of  the  Fathers. 

The  Christian  fathers  of  the  second  and  following  centuries  in- 
Opinions  re-  ^line  more  to  the  thought  of  a  magical  power  of  the 
spectingits  water  in  baptism.  Justin  Martyr'  calls  it  the  water  of 
natuie.  life,  i;dwp  ^MTjg  ;  Tertullian  ^   conveys  the  thought  that 

in  the  water  of  baptism  the  new  birth  takes  place;  Gregory  of  Nazi- 

'  Bryennios  remarks  that  vSup  ^uv  is  not  exclusively  running  water,  but  that 
which  is  brouglit  fresh  from  rivers  and  springs,  where  in  earliest  times  the  Christians 
were  wont  to  baptize. 

^  Tlepl  Jf  Tov  (iaTZTiCfiaTOQ  ovtu  (iaiTTicaTV  ravra  izavra  TzpoenrovTE^,  PaTTTiaare  cif  to 
dvofia  Toil  n«rp6f  nal  tov  Y'lov  koI  tov  dyiov  Tlvev/iaTOC  hv  vSoti  Cojvtc.  'Eav  df  /u?/  ixVi 
v6up  l^uv,  fJf  aA^M  vdup  ^a-KTiaav  el  «5'  ov  dvvaaai  ev  ipvxPVt  ^^  Oepfiu.  'Eav  de  aju^oTepa 
M  ^XV^f  eKxcov  elg  ttjv  /c£0a/l^  Tplg  vSup  eJf  ovofia  TlaTpS^  koI  T'lov  Kai  dyiov  Hvevfxa- 
rof.  Ilpb  Se  tov  jiawTlafiaToq  TzpovTjaTevaciTu  6  jSmrTil^uv  koI  6  (ianTi^o^evoQ  Koi  el 
TivEQ  a7.7.oi  fivvavTar  KE?iEvaeic  (^£  vrjCTEvaai  tov  pmzTil^ofiEvov  rrpo  fiia^  fj  Svo. — Teaching 
of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  chap.  vii.  De  Rossi,  referring  to  this  passage,  says :  "  The 
performance  of  this  rite  by  pouring  was  by  no  means  exceptional.  The  catacomb 
representations  agree  with  the  oldest  form  in  this  matter."  v.  Romische  Quartal- 
schrift,  1888,  Heft  1.  ^  Jjiahr/.  c.  Tri/p.  *de  Bapt.,  c.  1. 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   BAPTISM.  433 

anzen '  speaks  of  it  as  "  the  garment  of  immortality,  the  laver  of 
regeneration,"  etc.  By  some  of  the  fathers  the  necessity  of  bap- 
tism to  salvation  is  clearly  taught;  hence  the  characterization  of  the 
rite  as  salus.^  Others  ^  emphasize  the  enlightening  effects  how  charac- 
of  baptism;  hence  call  it  <pi>)Ti,afi6g,  illuminatio,  sacra-  teiized. 
mentutn  illwnitiationis,  hix  inentis,  etc.  These,  together  with  other 
terms  for  baptism  and  its  effects,  as  ;^;ptCTjtia,  unctio,  ocppayig,  sigil- 
lum,  indulgentia,  absolutio,  gratia,  mors  peccatorum,  etc.,  clearly 
indicate  the  high  worth  placed  upon  baptism  by  the  Christian 
fathers,  as  well  as  their  opinion  of  its  magical  effects. 

The  post-Nicene  fathers,  no  less  than  their  predecessors,  are  posi- 
tive in  their  opinions  relative  to  the  necessity  of  baptism  to  salva- 
tion, and  to  its  power  to  regenerate  the  subject.  Separate  treatises 
upon  its  nature,  efficacy,  and  necessity  were  prepared  by  Basil, 
Gregory  Nazianzen,  Gregory  of  Nyssa,  and  Augustine.  It  occu- 
pies a  prominent  place  in  the  theology  of  Augustine,  who  attempts 
to  harmonize  it  with  his  peculiar  views  of  original  sin  and  the 
enslavement  of  the  human  will.  With  other  prominent  fathers, 
he  plainly  teaches  the  necessity  of  baptism  to  salvation ;  conse- 
quently, that  all  the  unbaptized  are  lost,  including  young  children.* 
He  also  regards  baptism  as  a  sacrament  of  regeneration,  through 
which  forgiveness  of  sin  is  attained,  and  as  the  channel  for  the 
communication  of  efficient  and  cooperating  grace.  Yet  with  most 
of  these  great  theologians  the  exercise  of  faith  is  regarded  as  the 
necessary  condition  of  the  efficient  operation  of  the  sacrament.  In 
opposition  to  Cyprian  and  some  of  the  Eastern  fathers,  Augustine 
recognised  the  validity'"  of  heretical  baptism.^  It  will  be  necessary 
to  cite,  by  way  of  illustration,  Justin  Martyr,  Clement  of  Alexan- 
dria, Tertullian,  and  Cyprian,  which  carries  us  to  the  middle  of  the 
third  century. 

Justin  Martyr  (110-165  A.  D.),  in  his  first  Apology,  chap.  Ixi,  says 
concerning  those  who  are  to  be  baptized:  "They  are  brought  to 
where  there  is  water  and  are  regenerated  in  the  same 

1  .   ,  ,  .     1        T-i         Justin  Martyr. 

manner  in  which  we  ourselves  were  regenerated,     r  or 
in  the  name  of  God,  the  Father  and  Lord  of  the  universe,  and  of 
our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  then  receive 
the  washing  with  water."    "  And  this  washing  is  called  illumination 
{(fxoTiafiog)  because  they  who  learn  these  things  are  illuminated  in 

'  Orat.  40,  de  Bap.  ^  Augustine,  Basil,  Greg.  Nazianzeu,  and  others. 

^  Just.  Mar. :  ApoL,  2  ;  Clem.  Alex.  :  Pcedag.,  i,  (5 ;  Greg.  Naz. :  Orat.  40,  de  Bap.  ; 
Chiys. :  Hom.  13,  in  Heb. 

*  V.  Ep.  186,  c.  27;  and  de  Nupt.  et  Concup.,  i,  c.  28. 
'  De  Bap.  contra  Donat.,  b.  vii. 


434       SACRAMENTS   AND    WORSHIP   OF   EARLY   CHURCH. 

their  understandings.  And  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  was 
crucified  under  Pontius  Pilate,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
who  through  the  prophets  foretold  all  things  about  Jesus,  he  who  is 
illuminated  is  washed." 

Justin  alludes  to  the  imitation  of  baptism  by  demons,  chap.  Ixii: 
"  And  the  devils,  indeed,  having  heard  this  washing  published  by 
the  prophet,  instigate  those  who  enter  their  temples,  and  are  abour 
to  approach  them  with  libations  and  burnt  offerings,  also  to  sprinkle 
themselves;  and  they  cause  them  also  to  wash  themselves  entirely, 
as  they  depart,  before  they  enter  into  the  shrines  where  their  images 
are  set,"  He  also  speaks  of  leading  the  person  who  is  washed  to 
the  "  laver." 

Here  we  have  the  teaching  concerning  regeneration  through  bap- 
tism. The  mode  suggested  is  "washing"  and  "  sprinkling."  This 
is  clearly  shown  in  the  quotation  from  chap.  Ixii,  where  the  devils 
imitating  baptism  incite  the  people  to  "  also  sprinkle  themselves " 
and  "to  wash  themselves."  This  washing  and  sprinkling  corre- 
sponds precisely  with  the  monumental  testimony,  and  the  laver  is 
indicated  as  in  use  in  the  Church  at  this  time. 

Clement  of  Alexandria  (A.  D.  153-217),  in  the  Poidagogus,  chap. 
Clement  of  ^\  speaks  of  being  perfected  by  baptism,  and  illuminated. 
Alexandria.  "Being  baptized  we  are  illuminated;  illuminated  we 
become  sons,"  etc.  "  We  are  washed  from  our  sins  and  are  no  longer 
entangled  in  evil.  This  is  the  one  grace  of  illumination,  that  our 
characters  are  not  the  same  as  before  our  washing.  And  since 
knowledge  springs  up  with  illumination,  shedding  its  beams  around 
the  mind,  the  moment  we  hear  we  who  were  untaught  become  dis- 
ciples." This  testimony  from  the  middle  of  the  second  century 
says  nothing  about  the  mode,  alluding  only  to  the  "  washing  "  or 
bathing  and  the  illumination,  accompanied  by  the  transformation 
of  the  life. 

In  Tlie  Chaplet,  or  Be  Corona,  Tertullian  (145-220  A.  D.)  gives 

us  in  chap,  iii  a  glimpse  of  the  mode  and  the  attendant 
Tertullian  . 

ceremonies:  "When  we  are  going  to  enter  the  water, 

but  a  little  before,  in  the  presence  of  the  congregation  and  under 
the  hand  of  the  president,  we  solemnly  profess  that  we  disown  the 
devil  and  his  pomp  and  his  angels.  Hereupon  we  are  thrice  im- 
mersed, making  a  somewhat  ampler  pledge  than  the  Lord  hath  ap- 
pointed in  the  gospel.  Then,  when  we  are  taken  up  (as  newborn 
children),  we  taste  first  of  all  a  mixture  of  milk  and  honey,  and 
from  that  day  we  refrain  from  the  daily  bath  for  a  whole  Aveek." 

We  notice  here  a  trine  immersion,  a  public  disowning  of  the  devil 
and  his  pomp  and  his  angels,  the  tasting  of  milk  and  honey,  and  the 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   BAPTISM.  435 

refraining  from  the  daily  bath  for  a  week.  For  these  practices 
TertuUian  distinctly  affirms  that  he  has  no  Scripture  warrant,  but 
that  it  is  a  ceremonial  amplification  of  what  is  commanded.  It  is 
to  his  extended  treatise  De  Baptlsmo  that  we  must  look  for  further 
information.  This  treatise  was  written  as  a  polemic  against  cer- 
tain who  were  endeavoring  to  do  away  with  baptism.  It  is  there- 
fore elaborate  and  goes  much  into  detail.  It  is  necessary  for  our 
purpose  to  give  but  few  selections. 

Speaking  as  to  the  simplicity  of  the  rite,  he  says,  chap,  ii:  "With- 
out pomp,  without  any  considerable  novelty  of  preparation,  finally 
without  expense,  a  man  is  dipped  in  water,  and  amid  the  utterance 
of  some  few  words  is  sprinkled,  and  then  rises  again,  not  much  (or 
not  at  all)  the  cleaner;  the  consequent  attainment  of  eternity  is  in- 
credible." 

Here  Ave  have  the  "dipping"  and  the  "sprinkling"  again  associ- 
ated, as  in  the  testimony  of  Justin. 

"Is  it  not  wonderful,  too"  (in  chap,  ii),  "that  death  should  be 
washed  away  by  bathing  ?  " 

In  chap,  iv  he  writes:  "It  makes  no  difference  whether  a  man  be 
washed  in  a  sea  or  a  pool,  a  stream  or  a  font,  a  lake  or  a  trough; 
nor  is  there  any  distinction  between  those  whom  John  baptized  in 
the  Jordan  and  those  whom  Peter  baptized  in  the  Tiber,  unless 
withal  the  eunuch  whom  Philip  baptized  in  the  midst  of  his  jour- 
neys, with  chance  water,  derived  (therefrom)  more  or  less  of  salva- 
tion." 

In  chap,  vii  he  speaks  of  unction:  "After  this  when  we  have 
issued  from  the  font  we  are  thorouglily  anointed  with  a  blessed 
unction."  Chap,  viii:  "In  the  next  place  the  hand  is  laid  onus, 
invoking  and  inviting  the  Holy  Spirit  through  benediction."  In 
chap,  xii  we  read:  "Without  baptism  salvation  is  attainable  by 
none."  He  holds  in  chap,  xvi,  as  strangely  contradictory  to  the 
former  statement,  that  the  baptism  with  water  is  not  absolutely  es- 
sential to  salvation.  Speaking  of  the  baptism  of  blood,  he  says: 
"  We  have,  indeed,  likewise  a  second  font  (itself  withal  one  with 
the  former),  of  blood,  to  wit:  concerning  which  the  Lord  said,  'I 
have  to  be  baptized  with  a  baptism,'  when  he  had  been  baptized  al- 
ready. .  .  .  This  is  the  baptism  which  stands  in  lieu  of  the  fontal 
bathing  when  that  has  not  been  received,  and  restores  it  when  lost." 
So  that  to  be  sprinkled  or  bathed  with  the  blood  of  martyrdom  was 
counted  as  a  baptism.  He  further  distinguishes  three  baptisms: 
ftumbiis,  Jlarninis,  sanguinis;  water,  fire,  blood. 

As  to  the  ministrants  we  find,  in  chap,  xvii:  "Of  giving  it,  the 
chief  priest  (who  is  the  bishop)  has  the  right.     In  the  next  place 


436       SACRAMENTS   AND   WORSHIP    OF   EARLY    CHURCH. 

the  presbyters  and  deacons,  yet  not  without  the  bishop's  authority 
ou  account  of  the  honor  of  the  Church,  which  being  preserved  peace 
is  preserved.  Besides  these  even  laymen  have  the  right,  for  what 
is  equally  received  can  be  equally  given." 

Concerning  the  delay  of  baptism  and  the  baptism  of  infants  we 
find,  in  chap,  xviii,  the  following  interesting  paragraph:  "And  so, 
according  to  the  circumstances  and  dispositions,  and  even  age,  of 
each  individual,  the  delay  of  baptism  is  preferable,  principally,  how- 
ever, in  the  case  of  little  children ;  for  why  is  it  necessary,  if  bap- 
tism itself  is  not  so  necessary,  that  the  sponsors  should  be  thrust 
into  danger  who  both  themselves  by  reason  of  mortality  may  fail 
to  fulfill  their  promises,  and  may  be  disappointed  by  the  develop- 
ment of  an  evil  disposition  ?  [in  those  for  whom  they  stood.]  The 
Lord  does  indeed  say,  '  Forbid  them  not  to  come  unto  me.'  Let 
them  come,  then,  while  they  are  learning  whither  to  come.  Let 
them  become  Christians  when  they  have  been  able  to  know  Christ. 
Why  does  the  innocent  period  of  life  hasten  to  the  remission  of 
sins?" 

TertuUian  here  virtually  concedes  that  some  Christians  have  had 
their  children  baptized  and  that  sponsors  had  stood  for  them.  He 
acknowledges  that  the  command  of  the  Saviour  is  a  warrant  for  re- 
ceiving children,  but  vitiates  it  by  his  words,  "  Let  them  come  when 
they  are  growing  up"  (or  have  grown  up).  The  natural  inference 
is  that  the  baptism  of  infants  must  have  obtained  at  this  period, 
about  the  middle  of  the  second  century. 

The  last  citations  are  from  Cyprian  (A.  D.  200-258),  Omitting 
much  which  he  holds  in  common  with  the  preceding  fathers,  the 
selections  here  given  bear  especially  on  infant  baptism  and  clinic 
baptism.  Epistle  Iviii  is  written  to  Fidus,  on  the  bap- 
tism of  infants.  Cyprian,  with  sixty-six  of  his  fellow- 
bishops,  writes  this  letter  to  Fidus  and  those  who  thought  that  an 
infant  must  not  be  baptized  before  the  eighth  day  after  its  birth. 
He  holds  that  as  soon  as  it  is  born  it  may  properly  be  baptized :  "  But 
in  respect  of  the  case  of  the  infants,  which  you  say  ought  not  to  be 
baptized  within  the  second  or  third  day  after  their  birth,  and  that 
the  law  of  ancient  circumcision  should  be  regarded,  so  that  you 
think  that  one  who  is  just  born  should  not  be  baptized  and  sancti- 
fied in  the  eighth  day,  we  all  thought  very  differently  in  our  coun- 
cil.' .  .  .  But  again,  if  even  to  the  greatest  sinners  .  .  .  remission 
of  sins  is  granted  (and  nobody  is  hindered  from  baptism  and  from 
grace)  how  much  rather  ought  we  to  shrink  from  hindering  an  in- 
fant, who,  being  lately  born,  has  not  sinned." 
>  Council  of  Carthage,  252  A.  D. 


THE    SACRAMENT   OF   BAPTISM.  437 

In  Epistle  Ixxv  we  notice  Cyprian's  views  as  to  clinic  baptism: 
"  You  have  asked  what  I  thought  of  those  who  obtain  God's  grace 
in  sickness  and  weakness,  whether  they  are  to  be  accounted  legiti- 
mate Christians  for  that  they  are  not  washed  but  sj^rinkled  with 
the  saving  water.  In  this  point  my  diffidence  and  modesty  prejudge 
none  so  as  to  prevent  any  from  feeling  what  he  thinks  right  and 
from  doing  what  he  feels  to  be  right." 

In  this  letter  Cj^prian  in  a  broad  way  affirms  that  affusion  is  right 
and  scriptural  ;  that  "  in  the  sacrament  of  salvation,  when  neces- 
sity compels  and  God  bestows  his  mercy,  the  divine  methods  confer 
the  whole  benefit  on  believers;  nor  ought  it  to  trouble  anyone  that 
sick  people  seem  to  be  sprinkled  or  affused."  To  sustain  his  posi- 
tion he  quotes  various  passages  from  the  Old  Testament  concerning 
the  purification  by  means  of  the  sprinkling  of  water,  and  concludes: 
"  Whence  it  appears  that  the  sprinkling  also  of  water  prevails  eqiially 
with  the  washing  of  salvation;  and  that  when  this  is  done  in  the 
Church,  where  the  faith  both  of  receiver  and  giver  is  sound,  all 
things  hold,  and  may  be  consummated  and  perfected  by  the  majesty 
of  the  Lord  and  by  the  truth  of  faith." 

§  4.  Monumental  Evidence. 

The  testimony  of  the  monuments  consists  of  the  frescos,  inscrip- 
tions, and  sculptures  of  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian  Church. 

Among  the  very  earliest  frescos  is  that  found  on  the  wall  in  the 
crypt  of  Santa  Lucina,  in  the  catacomb  of  San  Calisto,  Fresco  from 
Rome  (Fig.  126).  The  lower  central  fresco  has,  almost  Santa  Lucina. 
without  exception,  been  regarded  as  a  representation  of  the  close 
of  the  baptism  of  Christ  as  described  in  Matt,  iii,  16.  A  Baptism  of 
nude  male  figure  is  stepping  from  the  water,  which  Cbrist. 
reaches  above  the  knees.  A  man  clad  in  a  tunic  is  standing  on  the 
shore  and  extending  his  hand  in  helpfulness  toward  the  one  who  has 
received  baptism.  Above  is  the  dove,  bearing  in  its  beak  what 
seems  to  be  an  olive  branch,  symbolizing  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  at- 
tests the  act.  There  is  no  suggestion  of  an  immersion,  but  rather 
of  aspersion  by  the  ministrant,  who  stands  upon  the  shore.'  Other 
interpretations  of  this  scene,  as  that  it  is  the  rescue  of  otiier  interpre- 
Peter  from  the  waves,*  or  the  saving  of  the  hunted,  tations  not  ten- 
persecuted  saints  from  the  waters  of  affliction,'  seem  to    ^^^^' 

'  V.  de  Rossi:  Rom.  Softer.,  t.  i,  lib.  3,  c.  3.  Schulze:  Die  Katakomben,  ss.  313,  314. 
Roller:  Lcs  Cataconibes  de  Rome,  Tom.  i,  Fig.  1  and  pi.  xviii,  pp.  102,  103.  Kraiis : 
Real-Enxyklopwdie,  Freiburg,  1886,  art.  "  Taufe." 

-  Martigny  :  Did.,  art.  "  Pierre."  See  also  discussion  by  De  Waal  in  Rom.  Qnar- 
tahchrift,  1896,  No.  4  :  Pictures  of  the  baptism  of  Christ  before  the  time  of  Constantine. 

^  Garrucci :  Storia,  etc.,  i,  Teorica,  203. 


438       SACRAMENTS   AND   WORSHIP   OF   EARLY   CHURCH. 

harmonize  only  a  portion  of  the  elements  of  the  fresco.  The  inter- 
pretation as  the  baptism  has  generally  been  accepted  by  the  best 
archaeologists. 

It  is  held  by  some  that  here  is  but  the  completion  of  the  act  of 


Fig.  136.— Fresco  from  Santa  Lucina,  Rome.    Baptism  of  Christ. 

immersion,  and  that  in  an  age  when  there  was  no  baptismal  con- 
troversy there  was  no  need  of  a  full  presentation  of  the  apostolic 
rite.     But  this  assumes  just  what  is  in  question,  that  there  was  one 


'ur^!*"!-  ■ 


■M^^' 


/ 


Fig.  127.— A  baptism  of  Christ,    From  the  crypt  of  Santa  Lucina,  Rome. 


THE    SACRAMENT   OF   BAPTISM. 


439 


manner  of  baptizing  ;  whereas  there  were  other  modes  of  baptism 
so  commonly  accepted  as  to  give  no  occasion  for  controversy,  and 
hence  we  are  to  interpret  the  pictorial  representations  in  the  light 
of  the  variety  of  mode  as  to  what  they  tell. 

Fig.  127  is  the  representation  of  a  fresco  from  another  cubicu- 
lum  of  the  crypt  of  Santa  Lucina.'  It  is  the  same  age  as  Fig.  126, 
and  the  subject  is  evidently  the  same.  The  attitude  of  the  fig- 
ures in  the  two  frescos  is  very  similar.     The  symbolic  dove  has 


Fig.  l:i8.— Supposed  baptism.    Fresco  from  San  Pretestato,  Rome. 

here  the  same  significance  as  in  the  other.  The  figure  leaving  the 
water  is  partially  draped,  while  in  Fig.  126  it  is  nude.  The  interpre- 
The  ministrant  is  represented  with  the  added  pallium,  tation. 
instead  of  the  simple  tunic,  as  in  Fig.  126.  The  subject  of  the 
fresco  can  hardly  be  questioned,''  The  scene  can  only  by  an  un- 
warrantable stretch  of  the  imagination  be  regarded  as  the  last  stage 
of  an  immei'sion.  The  simpler  and  more  obvious  act  is  that  of  an 
aspersion,  since  there  is  no  suggestion  whatever  that  the  ministrant 
has  before  been  standing  in  the  water. 

Fig.  128  is  the  representation  of  a  fresco  from  the  cemetery  of 
San  Pretestato,  Rome.  This  is  believed  by  the  highest  «j^,ppQgg,^  ijap- 
authorities  to  belong  to  the  second  century.  The  three  tism  from  san 
figures  have  been  interpreted  differently.     Those  who   Pretestato. 

'  The  construction,  history,  chronology,  and  frescos  of  this  crypt  have  been  studied 
witli  great  thoroughness  by  the  brothers  de  Rossi,  and  admirably  described. 
'^  V.  Roller:    Op.  cit.,  Tom.  i,  pp.  95,  xeq.,  pi.  xvii. 


440      SACRAMENTS   AND   WORSHIP   OF   EARLY   CHURCH. 

see  in  it  a  baptism  of  Christ  regard  the  sprays  around  the  head  of  the 
right  hand  figure  as  representing  the  water  used  in  sprinkling,  John 
and  the  other  figure  as  representative  of  tlie  people  standing  on  the 
bank  of  the  river.  The  presence  of  the  dove  seems  also  to  suggest 
a  baptismal  scene.*  Garrucci  also  regards  the  green  band  around 
the  head  of  the  Saviour  as  analogous  to  that  in  Fig,  126.  De  Rossi 
and  others  look  upon  the  picture  as  representing  the  crowning  of 
Christ  with  thorns.^  Against  this  view  Garrucci  strongly  urges  the 
fact  of  the  general  absence  of  representations  of  Christ's  sufferings 
and  passion  in  early  Christian  art,  as  well  as  the  presence  in  the 


Fig.  129.— A  baptism.    From  San  Calisto,  Rome.    After  Strzygowski. 

fresco  of  the  water  and  the  dove.  The  subject  of  this  early  fresco 
is  regarded  as  questionable;  its  evidential  value  is  not,  therefore, 
of  the  first  order. 

Competent  authorities  have  referred  the  fresco,  Fig.  129,  to  the 
latter  part  of  the  second,  or  early  part  of  the  third,  century.  It  is 
Baptism  from  P^^^'t  of  the  decorations  in  one  of  the  "  chambers  of  the 
San  Calisto.  sacraments  "  in  the  catacomb  of  San  Calisto.  A  boy, 
standing  in  water  reaching  a  little  more  than  half  way  to  the  knees,  is 
receiving  baptism  from  a  man  who  is  standing  upon  the  shore.  The 
water  is  broken  into  spray,  indicating  a  pouring  or  sprinkling.     It 

'  V.  Ferret:  t.  i,  pi.  Ixxx.  Garrucci:  Op.  ci(.,  i,  p.  368;  ii,  46 ;  Op.  cit.,  t.  i,  pp.  101, 
seq.,  pi.  xviii. 

^  V.  Bull.  Arch.  Crist.,  1872.  Also  Strzygowski:  Ikonographie  der  Tanfe  Christi, 
Miiuchen,  1885,  Taf.  i,  nn.  4,  5. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM. 


441 


has  been  seriously  attempted  to  show  that  these  sprays  are  rays 
of  fire,  and  that  here  is  indicated,  not  an  aspersion,  but  the  baptism 
of  fire.'  It  is  only  necessary  to  examine  the  original  fresco,  and 
also  the  colored  plate  as  given  by  de  Rossi,^  which  reproduces  the 
color  of  the  original,  where  the  sprays  springing  from  the  boy's 
head  are  colored  blue,  to  indicate  water. 

Fig.  130  is  from  a  fresco  found  in  another  of  the  chambers  of  the 
same  catapomb,  and  is  plainly  contemporary  with  Fig.   Another  from 
129.     The  position  of  the  figures  is  quite  similar.     In   tnesame. 
Fig.  130  the  boy  stands  in  water  hardly  more  than  ankle  deep,  while 


Fig.  130.— A  baptism.    From  San  Calisto,  Rome. 

the  ministrant,  clad  in  the  toga  and  bearing  in  his  hand  a  roll,  the 
usual  sign  of  authoritative  teaching,  stands  upon  the  shore  and 
places  his  hand  upon  the  head  of  the  candidate  in  the  act  of  baptism. 
Respecting  the  age  of  Figs.  126,  127,  128,  129,  and  130  there  is 
scarcely  any  diversity  of  opinion  among  competent  au-  ^^^^^  ^^^ 
thorities.  All  are  certainly  of  pre-Constantine  origin,  constantine  in 
Figs.  126,  127,  129,  and  130  reaching  back,  in  all  proba-  °'"'^''°- 
bility,  to  the  second  century.  As  to  the  interpretation  of  Nos.  126, 
127,  129,  and  130,  very  general  agreement  is  found  among  the  best 
archaeologists.     They  are  baptismal  scenes. 

'  Armitage :  History  of  the  Baptists.  A  recent  suggestion  that  these  sprays  are  the 
addition  of  a  later  century  in  the  interest  of  baptism  by  aspersion  is  not  supported  by 
the  latest  catacomb  researches,     v.  Wilpert.        ^  Roma  Sotteranea,  Atlas  i,  Tav.  xiv. 


442        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 


In  tlie  post-Constantine  jieriod  more  frequent  representations  of 
the  baptismal  rite  are  preserved,  and  they  are  wrought  out  in  much 
greater  detail. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  these  is  given  in  Fig.  130=^.  It  is 
a  fragment  from  Aquileia,  and  is  assigned  to  the  fourth  century  : ' 
(inn)bcENTI  SP(irit)0  QVEM  ELEGIT  DOM(inu)S  PAVSAT 
IN  PACE  FIDELIS  X  KAL(endas)  SEPTEMBR.  "  To  theinno- 
cent  S'pirit  xoliom  the  Lord  hath  taken.  He  dies  in  peace.,  faithfxd 
{baptized),  the  tenth  Kalends  of  September.''^  The  form  spirito  is 
unknown  to  classical    Latin,     The  repetition  of   SEPT  is  due  to 

.^CENTISPOaVEM 
ELECMCOMSfAV^AT^- 

FIDE 

5rPT 


EMBU 


Fig.  130".— Baptismal  scene  and  inscription  from  Aquileia. 

careless  workmanship,  PAVSAT  is  not  found  on  the  Roman 
monuments,  FIDELIS  indicates  that  the  deceased  had  been  bap- 
tized. Ambrose  tells  us:  "■Prima  est  fides.  Idea  et  Romm  fideles 
dicuntur  qui  baptizati  sunt.'''' '  This  may  also  be  noticed  in  the 
Lapidarian  Gallery  of  the  Lateran  Museum,  column  ix,  n.  39  :  ^^In- 
scriptions of  catechumens,  7xeophytes  and  fideles.''"'  The  scene  repre- 
sented is  that  of  a  baptism.  The  subject  stands  in  a  shallow  font, 
while  water  pours  from  above.  The  dove  appears  from  the  heavens, 
indicating  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  On  the  right  stands 
a  saint,  clad  in  pallium,  with  his  right  hand  pointing  to  the  subject, 

'From  squeeze  taken  by  Dr.  Nikolaus  Miiller,  1892.    v.  also  Wilpert:  Ephemeris 
Salonitana,  1894.      Gregorutti :  Le  antice  lapidi  di  Aqtiileia. 
^  De  Sacram. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM. 


44*d 


On  the  left  stands  the  ministrant,  resembling  the  Good  Shepherd 
in  Fig.  125''.  Ilis  hand  rests  ujiton  the  subject's  head,  in  benediction, 
in  unction,  or  in  the  act  of  aspersion.  The  subject,  as  indicated  by 
the  inscription,  is  a  young  person  [innocentl  spirito).  The  scene  is 
in  a  garden.  Three  sheep  in  the  foliage  below  look  iipward.  The 
suggestion  is  that  the  departed  has  been  welcomed  to  the  number 
of  the  fold  of  the  Good  Shepherd  in  paradise. 

The    erection    of  distinct   baptisteries    gave    occasion    for  their 
ornamentation  "with  frescos  and  mosaics,  some  of  which   ^^    sarcopha- 
were  elaborate  and  beautiful.     Also  the  rite  is   found   gns  of  Junius 
depicted  on  the  sarcophagus  of  Junius  Bassus  (u.  Plate     '"'''"*■ 
II)  in  symbolic  form  {v.  Plate  IP),  where  the  baptismal  waters  are 


Fig.  131.— Fragment  of  a  glaj<s  cup,  Rome.    A  baptism. 


represented  as  flowing  from  the  uplifted-foot  of  one  lamb  upon  the 
head  of  another,  while  rays  stream  down  from  the  peak  of  the  sym- 
bolic dove.' 

A  fragment  of  a  glass  cup,  found  on  the  Esqniline,  Rome,  in  1876, 
also  contains  the  representation  of  a  baptism.''     It  prob-   „    ,.      ^ 

'^       ,       .  ^     *  ^    ^         Baptism  by  as- 

ably  belongs  to  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century.     Fig.   persion  on  glass 
131  is  two  thirds  the  size  of  the  original.     The  scene  is  °"P' 
an  interesting  one.     A  young  girl,  Alba  (possibly  Albana),  is  the 
central  figure.     She  is  clad   in  the  white  robe  usually  worn  on  the 
day  of  baptism.     The  priest,  Mirax,  whose  head  is  en- 
circled  by  the  simple  nimbus,  extends  the  hand  in  the 


Explanation. 


'  V.  Plate  11",  in  tlio  spandrel  between  "  Daniel  in  the  den  of  lions  "  and  "  Christ's 
triumphal  entry." 

'^  V.  de    Rossi:    Ball.   Arch.    Crist.,    18Y6,   Fasc.    i,   T.  i.     Garrucci :   Sioria,    etc., 
T.  cecclxiv. 
29 


444        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

inaniicr  of  address,  while  tlie  liaiid  of  a  ])ei-soii  not  i-e])r('stMitc'(l  on 
the  fragment,  probably  the  s])onsor,  is  laid  upon  the  head  of  tlie 
candidate.  The  chief  significance  of  the  scene  for  our  purpose  is  in 
the  water  flowing  from  an  inverted  urn,  and  the  descent  of  the  dove, 


Fig.  133.— Baptism  of  Christ.    San  (ii<iviuiiii  in  l''(.nic,  li:ivenna. 

bearing  in  its  beak  the  olive  branch.     The  re|)resentation  of  baptism 
by  aspersion  is  evident. 

Several  mosaics  and.  frescos  of  a  somewhat  later  date  represent 
the  baptism  of  Christ  in  an  almost  jnirely  realistic  manner,  and.  gen- 
erally the  manifest  mode  is  aspersion.  One  of  the  best  ])reserved 
and  most  interesting  is  found  in  San  Giovanni  in  Fonte,  Ravenna 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM. 


445 


(Fig.  1:^2).'  The  mosaics  were  ofiginally  executed  A.  D.  449-452. 
Wliile  lliey  liave  probably  suffered  i-estoration  in  certain  parts, 
tliere  is  no  evidence  that  the  original  design  has  been  departed 
from.  The  baptismal  scene  is  found  in  the  crown  of  the  dome.  The 
twelve  apostles  radiate  from  the  central  scene,  each  bearing  in  his 
hand  a  crown.  Christ  stands  in  the  Jordan,  whose  wateis  reach  to 
about  the  middle  of  the  body,  while  John,  standing  on  the  land, 
and  holding  in  Ins  left  hand  a  jewelled  cross,  is  pouring  water  upon 
the  liead  of  Christ  from  a  shell  held  in  the  Baptist's  right  hand. 
The   svmbolic  dove,  descending  directly  upon   the  head   of  Jesus, 


Fig.  13;i — Baptiim  of  Christ.    Sauta  Maria  in  Cosmcdiu,  Uaveuuu. 

completes  the  ba])tismal  representation.  The  Jordan,  lORD,  sym- 
bolized by  a  river-god  bearing  a  reed,  introduces  into  the  scene  a 
heathen  elemiMit. 

A  very  similar  mosaic  representation,  from  about   the  middle  of 
the  sixth  century,  is  preserved  in  Santa  ^Maria  in   Cos-      Another  mo- 
medin,   Ravenna    (Fig.    133).     The  associated    apostles      ''"*'• 
bearing  crowns  appear  as  in  Fig.  132.     The   appearance   of  Christ 

'  Quasi  :  Die  aJt-chn.stlichoi  Bnuswer/ie  von  Mdvenita,  iJerlin,  1842,  ss.  4,  5,  and 
Taf.  i.  Richter:  Mosaikcu  von  Ravenna,  Wien,  1878.  Garrucci :  Op.  cit.,  Tom.  iv, 
tav.  ccxxvi  and  ccxxvii,  ])p.  34-30. 


44G        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 


is  more  youthful,  the  river-god  syinbuliziiiL!;  the  Jordan  is  more 
striking,  and  the  rougli  garment  of  camel's  hair  worn  by  the  Bap- 
tist is  clearly  shown. 

Fig.  134  is  a  repre- 
sentation from  a  pic- 
ture found  in  Santa 
Pudenziana,  Rome. 
In  this  scene  the  com- 
jjlete  act  of  bapism  is 
plainly  depicted.  The 
font,  too  small  for 
immersion,  contains 
two  nude  figures,  upon 
the  head  of  one  of 
whom  the  ministrant 
lays  the  hand.  Be- 
hind him  is  the  spon- 
sor, while  on  the  other 
side  of  the  font  are 
attendants  bearing 
appropriate  garments 
for  covering  the  candidates  at  the  close  of  the  ceremony.  The  sug- 
gestion here  is  certainly  that  of  sprinkling  or  pouring. 

The  fresco.  Fig.   13 5,  is 
from  the  cemetery  of  San 

From  San  Pon-    P  O  n  Z  i  a  n  o  , 

ziano.  Rome  ;    it     is 

fi-om  the  eighth  or  ninth 
century.'  Here  the  bap- 
tismal scene  is  repeated 
as  to  mode,  and  very  sim- 
ilar in  spirit  to  the  mo- 
saics of  the  fifth  and  sixth 
centuries,  aire  a  d  y  d  e  - 
scribed.  Christ  here  stands 
in  water  reaching  about  to 
the  waist.  The  Baptist, 
clad  in  his  rough  garment 
of  camel's  hair,  j. laces  the 
right  hand   on  the  head  of 


Fig.  134.— A  baptism.    From  a  fresco  in  Santa  Pudenziana, 
Rome. 


Fig.  135.— A  baptism  of  Christ,    From  a  fresco  in  San 
Ponziano,  Rome. 


'  Wc  liave  given  two  representations  of  baptisms  which  lie  outside  the  period  to 
whieli   our   examinations   liave  been   more   specially   confined  in  order  to  show  the 


persistence  of  the  art  rei)icscntations  of  this  rite  as  aspersion  or  sprinkl 


uv. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM.  447 

Jesus  in  the  performance  of  the  rite,  while  the  ratifying  of  the  act 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  is  here,  as  usual,  symbolized  by  the  Baptism  by  as- 
descending  dove.  On  the  opposite  bank,  in  the  back-  persion. 
ground,  an  angel,  descending  from  the  clouds,  bears  a  basin  and 
the  clothing  for  the  Saviour,  while  in  the  foreground  the  hart  seeks 
the  refreshing  waters. 

Other  representations  of  baptism,  extending  from  the  fourth  to 
the  tenth  centuries,  found  upon  a  great  variety  of  objects  and  in 
various  relations,  substantially  agree  with  those  already  given.' 

§  5.  Subjects  for  Baptism. 

The  first  converts  whose  names  and  the  circumstances  of  whose 
baptism  are  recorded  in  the  New  Testament  were  of  First  subjects 
adult  age.  It  is  nowhere  jDOsitively  affirmed  in  the  New  adults. 
Testament  that  children  or  infants  were  baptized  during  the  apos- 
tolic age.  The  mention  of  the  baptizing  of  households,  as  in  the 
case  of  Lydia's  and  the  jailer's,  leads  to  the  presumption  that  chil- 
dren were  included.  They  were  certainly  included  in  the  conception 
of  a  household,  as  noticed  above.     Moreover,  the  rela- 

^      .  .   .  ^,     .      .         ,  .  ,  .  Presumptions. 

tion  or  circumcision  to  Christian  baptism,  the  univer- 
sality of  the  benefits  of  Christ's  kingdom,  the  recognition  of  young 
children  as  objects  of  his  special  favor,  the  comprehensiveness  of 
the  apostolic  commission,  and  various  other  considerations,  afford 
reasonable  presumption  that  the  children  of  Christian  believers 
were  regarded  by  the  apostolic  Church  as  fit  subjects  for  baptism. 

The  testimony  of  the  apostolic  fathers,  while  not  openly  indorsing 
infant  baptism,  goes  to  show  that  it  was  practised. 

Justin  Martyr  *  says  :  "  There   are  among  the   Christians  of  this 
day  many  of  both  sexes,  sixty  and  seventy  years  old, 
who  have  been  made    disciples  from   their    infanc3\" 
Here  nothing  is  said  of  baptism,  but  the  very  notion  of  "  making 
disciples "   included  baptism.     Irenseus  does  not  positively  affirm 
the  practice  of  infant  baptism  in  his  day.     In   com- 

*■     ,  ...  Irenseus. 

mon  with  the  Christian  writers  of  the  second  century 
he  connects  the  necessity  of  baptism  with  the  taint  of  human  nature. 
He  argues  the  universal  guilt  of  sin  and  the  need  of  a  universal 
Saviour.  Clirist  is  the  Saviour  who  came  to  save  all  who  are  re- 
generated by  God.  But  this  regeneration  ordinarily  comes  through 
baptism.     He  thus  implies  that  baptism  was  administered  to  infants.^ 

'  For  a  complete  representation  and  description  of  these  v.  Strzygowski :  Ikonogra- 
phie  der  Taufe  Christi,  Miinchen,  1885.  ^  ApoL,  i,  15. 

^  Adver.  Sceres.,  lib.  ii,  c.  22;  ii,  cc.  22,  39.  v.  Powers:  "Irenseus  and  Infant  Bap- 
tism," in  the  Am.  Pres.  and  Theol.  Review,  1857,  pp.  239-26'7.  w.  Wall :  HiAit.  of 
Infant  Baptism^  Oxford,  1872,  vol.  i,  pp.  44,  seq. 


448        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

So  also  with  Tertullian.  While  no  positive  assertion  is  made  by 
the  African  presbyter  that  the  Church  practised  infant  baptism 
Tertuiiian's  the  entire  force  of  his  argument  presupposes  such  prac- 
position.  l^^.^,\     po,.^  if  lie  labours  to  show  that  the  rite  should 

be  postponed  to  adult  age,  it  is  evident  that  the  custom  of  the  bap- 
tism of  young  children  was  prevalent.  Moreover,  in  his  opposition 
he  does  not  cite  apostolic  custom  against  infant  baptism,  which  is 
almost  inconceivable  if  the  apostolic  Church  had  been  averse  to  it. 
Cyprian's  The   position  of   Cyprian  and  his  fellow-bishops  of  the 

views.  council,  in  the  epistle   to  Fidus,  already  quoted,  is  un- 

equivocally in  favor  of  the  baptism  of  infants.'' 

Thus,  while  no  positive  statement  relative  to  infant  baptism  is 
met  in  the  Scriptures,  or  in  the  writings  of  any  fathers  earlier  than 
Iren^us  and  Tertullian,  by  the  end  of  the  second  century  mention 
Not  general  in  ^^  made  of  the  baptism  of  children,  and  in  the  third,  of 
the  fourth  cen-  infants;  but  in  the  fourth  the  practice  of  infant  baptism 
^^^'  is  not   general,  since  eminent  fathers  of  the    Church, 

whose  parents  were  Christians,  did  not  receive  baptism  till  adult  age. 
That  during  the  third  century  the  children  of  Christian  parents  were 
frequently  baptized  is  established  by  much  unquestioned  testimony. 
Origen's  testi-  Origen  is  especially  clear  in  his  statement  of  the  prevail- 
™o°y-  ing  practice,  and  insists  that  the  Church  inherited  it 

from  the  apostles  themselves.'  From  the  middle  of  the  third  cen- 
tury the  custom  of  the  Church  is  attested  by  the  unequivocal  testi- 
mony of  competent  witnesses  ;  it  is  made  the  subject  of  conciliary 
Infant  baptism  action,^  and  is  defended  by  most  orthodox  writers 
common  in  the  against  the  contrary  teachings  of  some  heretical  sects. 
"  ■  While  tlie  opinions  of  the  Christian  teachers  of  the  third 
and  fourth  centuries  varied  with  regard  to  the  expediency  of  baptiz- 
ing infants  in  case  of  no  impending  danger,  they  were  in  accord  on 
the    question  of   its  rightfulness  and    lawfulness  when  threatened 

^  de  Hupt.,  c.  18.  V.  Hofling:  Das  Sacrament  der  Taufe,  Erlangen,  1846,  Bd.  i, 
ss.  104,  seq. 

^ "  The  introduction  of  the  practice  of  ptedobaptism  into  the  Church  is  hidden  in 
obscurity.  If  it  owes  its  origin  to  the  indispensableness  of  the  same  to  salvation,  this 
is  an  argument  that  the  superstitious  view  of  baptism  had  become  greatly  strength- 
ened. At  the  time  of  Irenaeus  (ii,  22,  4)  and  Tertullian  {de  Bapt.,  18)  it  was  already 
widely  practised,  being  defended  from  the  command  of  Christ  (Matt,  xix,  14).  We 
have  no  witness  for  this  practice  from  an  earlier  date.  Tertullian  opposed  it  on  the 
ground  that  a  conscious  faith  was  the  necessary  condition  of  receiving  the  rite,  but 
more  especially  because  of  its  tremendous  import.  ...  In  the  course  of  the  third  cen- 
tury the  custom  was  prevalent  to  baptize  the  children  of  Christian  families."  Harnack  : 
Lehrbuch  der  Doffmefigeschichfe,  Freiburg,  1894. 

^  /'.  in  Lur.^  Hom.  14,  t.  2 ;  and  in  Eom.,  1.  5,  c.  6,  v.  9.     *  Cyprian :  Ep.  59  and  64. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM.  449 

with  death.  Gregory  Nazianzen  thought  it  advisable,  if  in  good 
health,  to  deter  the  baptism  of  children  until  they  were  postponed  to 
about  three  years  old  ;  he  was,  however,  positive  in  ^^^  ^^^''^^  ^^^^' 
maintaining  the  right  and  duty  of  the  baptism  of  infants  in  case  of 
danger  of  death.'  The  inscriptions  which  contain  distinct  dogmatic 
teaching  have  been  shown  to  be  few,  yet  a  number  have  been  pre- 
served which  confirm  the  recorded  testimony  as  to  the  relation  of 
children  to  baptism  and  churcli  membership.  These  are  nearly  all 
within  the  fourth  century,  and  they  go  to  show  the  practice  of  the 
Church  at  this  period.  Children  of  tender  age  are  spoken  of  as 
having  been  baptized,  and  as  faithful  members  of  Christ's  Church. 
They  are  described  as  ^\fidelis,''^  or  "Trtdrdf,"  the  term  used  to  dis- 
tinguish a  baptized  person.^ 

That  infant  baptism  was  opposed  at  any  time  in  the  early  cen- 
turies arose  largely  from  the  mistaken  notion  that  baptism  washed 
away  all  sins,  and  that  sins  committed  after  baptism  were  specially 
difficult  of  cleansing  ;  hence  the  frequent  deferring  of  baptism  until 
a  late  period  in  life  or  just  before  death. 

The  practice  of  infant  baptism  was  usually  limited  to  the  case  of 
children  born  of  Christian   parents  :    nevertheless  the     ^,^     , 

\  , '  Liberal  prac- 

early  Church  was  generally  liberal  in  the  treatment  of  tice  of  early 
children  when  one  parent  was  a  Christian,  or  when  they  church. 
had  been  born  while  the  parents  were  under  ban  of  excommunica- 
tion, or  when  the  religious  status  of  the  parents  was  not  known.  In 
all  these  cases  the  children  were  held  to  be  fit  subjects  for  baptism.^ 
P"'rora  the  fourth  century  the  propriety  of  the  baptism  of  infants 
was  unquestioned.* 

§  6.  Catechurnenical  Trahdiig  of  Adults  for  Baptism  and  Admission  into  the  Church. 

During  the  warmth  of  zeal  in  the  apostolic  Church  professed  be- 
lievers in  Jesus  and  his  resurrection  were  almost  imme-   „    ,.     . 

Baptismimme- 

diately  admitted  to  baptism.  This  is  evident  from  the  diateonprofes- 
New  Testament  baptisms  already  examined.  It  seems  ^'°°  °^  ^'^^^^- 
to  have  been  the  method  of  John  the  Baptist  in  his  ministry ; 
nevertheless,  even  his  baptism  was  conditioned  on  repentance  and 
reformation  of  life.  So  also  in  the  later  history  of  the  Church,  dur- 
ing the  attempts    to  Christianize  the  pagan  peoples,  whole  tribes 

'  V.  Orat.  40,  de  Baptismo. 

'^  TertuUian :  de  Corona,  il.  Augustine :  Sermo  49.  Kraus :  R.  Ency.  der  Ch. 
Alt.     Le  Blant:   V Epi graphic  Chretiene  en  Gaule,  Paris,  1890,  p.  87. 

5  V.  Bingham  :    Op.  cit.,  bk.  x,  ch.  ii,  sees.   15-19;  xi,  ch.  iv,  see.  6 

*  '*  Baptism  of  infants  is  allowed  no  less  by  present  custom  than  by  the  ancient 
canons"  (of  the  Coptic  Church),  v.  Butler:  Ancient  Coptic  Churches  of  Egypt,  vol. 
ii,  p.  262.     For  inscriptions  on  infant  baptism  v.   Appendix. 


450         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

were  sometimes  baptized  almost  immediately,  at  their  own  request 
or  that  of  their  chiefs.'  But  from  the  second  century  the  genei'al 
practice  of  the  Church  was  essentially  modified,  especially  in  the 
case  of  converts  from  heathenism.  In  order  to  preserve  the  purity 
of  the  Church  and  save  it  from  scandal,  it  was  believed  necessary 
Special  train-  to  use  greater  caution  in  receiving  members,  and  by  a 
ing  necessary   gom-ge  of  careful  preliminary  training  to  become  assured 

in  the  case  of  .       .  .      ^        ^      r     i     •  /•     i       /-n     • 

Gentile  con-  01  their  Sincerity,  and  oi  their  acceptance  oi  tue  Chris- 
^6'"''*-  tian  doctrine  ;  thus  men  were  appointed  to  the  special 

duty  of  preparing  candidates  for  baptism.  The  nature  and  dura- 
tion of  the  instruction  varied  with  circumstances,  from  a  few  days 
to  two  or  three  years.  It  is  believed  that  this  had  chief  reference 
to  persons  of  Gentile  origin. 

The  gradual  admission  of  the  candidate  to  the  Church  services, 
his  instruction  in  the  exoteric  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  his  ad- 
vancement through  successive  stages  of  discipline,  were  regarded  as 
preparatory  to  his  initiation  into  the  mysteries  of  the  society.^  Bap- 
tism was  this  initiatory  rite  ;  and  to  reveal  its  process  and  effects  to 
those  who  were  still  in  catechumenical  training  was  deep  impiety. 

§  Y.    The  Mihistrants. 

It  is  certain  that  the  words  of  Christ's  last  commission  were  more 
The  right  to  especially  addressed  to  the  eleven  apostles.  But  that 
baptize  not  t|^e  rite  of  baptism  was   performed  by  others  than  the 

confined  to  the  .  . 

apostles.  twelve  and  Paul  is  plain  from  the  example  of  Philip, 

one  of  the  first  deacons  (Acts  viii,  12,  38).  Nevertheless,  during 
the  second  century,  when  the  episcopal  authority  had  come  to  be 
A  function  of  widely  recognised,  baptism  was  regarded  as  an  especial 
the  bishop.  function  of  the  bishop.  The  presbyters  and  deacons 
performed  the  rite,  but  with  express  permission  of  the  bishop. 
The  duty  pertained  to  the  episcopal  office,  and  could  be  discharged 
by  the  bishop  and  by  those  only  to  whom  his  right  was  delegated. 
Incases  of  ex-  This  was  the  theory  prevalent  in  the  orthodox  churches, 
treme  necessi-  both  East  and  West,  during  the  first  six  centuries.  How- 

ty  others  could  .  ^  . 

administer  the  ever,  in  cases  of  extreme  necessity,  not  only  presbyters 
"^^-  and  deacons,  but  also  laymen,   and  even   heretics,^  per- 

formed the  rite,  and  such  baptism  was  regarded  as  valid  by  most 

'  V.  Socrates  :  Eccles.  Hist.,  bk.  vii,  c.  xxx,  where  the  baptism  of  the  Burgundians 
is  described  as  taking  place  on  tlie  eighth  day,  after  a  fast  and  instruction  of  seven 
daj's.     This  was  early  in  the  fifth  century. 

"  Tt  is  easy  to  trace  parallelisms  between  the  practice  of  the  Christian  Church  and 
that  of  the  contemporary  social,  political,  and  religious  clubs. 

■'' The  validity  of  baptism,  when  performed  by  heretics  or  schismatics,  was  stoutly 
opposed  by  Cyprian  in  his  conflict  with  Novatian.     Incase  of  heretics  and  schismatics 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   BAPTISM.  451 

ecclesiastical  authorities.  It  was  so  recognised  on  account  of  the 
prevalent  view  that  baptism  was  necessary  to  admission  to  the 
Church  and  to  salvation.  The  service  of  an  irregular  administrator 
was  justified  only  on  the  ground  of  extreme  exigency,  as  in  the  case 
of  impending  death  or  the  compelled  absence  of  the  bishop.' 

§  8.    The  Mode  of  Baptism. 

In  the  instances  of  baptism  recorded  in  the  New  Testament  no 
mode  is  indicated.  With  the  practice  of  ceremonial  cleansing  the 
people  were  familiar.  It  is  in  this  custom  that  John's  baptism  finds 
its  warrant.  Christ's  baptism  must  also  rest  iijjon  the  John's  baptism 
same  custom.     In  this  purification  both  immersion  and   and    chnsts 

^  _        from  the  same 

affusion  were  practiced.  It  has  been  argued  that  Chris-  root. 
tian  baptism  took  the  form  usually  practised  in  the  Jewish  prose- 
lyte baptism,  Schiirer  argues  for  the  existence  of  the  rite  among  the 
Jews  in  the  time  of  Christ.^  Winer,  on  the  other  hand,  reaches  the 
opposite  conclusion.'  The  tendency  of  recent  scholarship  is  to  place 
the  practice  of  proselyte  baptism  at  a  later  date.''  It  cannot  there- 
fore be  urged  as  a  pattern  for  Christian  baptism. 

"  The  baptism  of  John  and  proselyte  baptism,"  says  Delitzsch, 
"  stand  only  in  direct  relation  to  one  another  in  so  far  as  one  and 
the  same  idea  underlies  both  kinds  of  baptism,  as  well  as  the  legal 
lustrations  in  general :  the  idea  of  the  passage  from  a  condition  of 
moral  uncleanness  to  a  condition  of  purity  from  sin  and  opinion  of 
guilt.  .  .  .  There  is  no  reason  to  assume  that  the  Delitzsch. 
baptism  of  John  or  Christian  baptism  originated  in  proselyte  bap- 
tism, or  even  that  it  derived  its  form  from  it.  It  was,  moreover, 
unlike  the  economy  of  God  to  build  upon  a  Pharisaic  usage,  and  not 
rather  upon  an  ancient  symbol  already  sanctified  by  the  giving  of 
the  law  on  Sinai.  John  himself  assigns  the  choice  of  this  symbolic 
rite  to  divine  appointment  (John  i,  33).  Johannic  and  Christian 
baptism  have,  however,  in  conformity  with  the  nature  of  the  new 
covenant  as  a  fulfillment  of  the  law  and  the  prophets  (Matt,  v,  17), 
over  and  above  their  connection  with  the  law  and  the  Levitical 
lustrations  in  general  as  prescribed  in  it,  also  another  point  of  con- 
nection in  prophecy  :  in  the  pi'ediction  of  a  future  purification  and 

as  miuistrants  he  denied  that  there  was  any  real  baptism,  since  no  one  outside  the 
Holy  Catholic  Church  had  the  character  requisite  to  make  the  baptism  effective  to 
the  washing  away  of  sins,  even  though  their  professed  faith  and  all  the  formulas  used 
were  in  exact  harmony  with  those  of  the  Church.  This  arose  from  his  extreme  theory 
of  the  unity  of  the  Church,     v.  Ep.  ad  Magnum,    v.  also  Tertullian  :  de  Bapt.,  eh.  xvii. 

'  For  authorities  v.  bk.  ii,  chap,  iv,  wliere  the  growth  of  the  episcopate  is  traced. 

'^  Geschichfe  der  Jiidischen  Volks  im  Zcitalter  Christi,  ii,  571,  xeg. 

'Herzog:   Real  Enn/.,  xii,  298,  299.  •'Herzog  und  Plitt :  Ency.,  3d  ed. 


452       SACRAMENTS   AND   WORSHIP   OF   EARLY   CHURCH. 

sanctification  through  water  and  the  Spirit  (Isa.  xliv,  3  ;  Ezek. 
xxxvi,  25;  xxxvii,  23,  seq.;  Zech.  xiii,  1)." 

The  apostles  employed  the  mode  in  use  at  the  time.  That  mode 
goes  back  to  the  Jewish  lustrations.  In  these  ceremonies  both  im- 
mersion and  aspersion  were  practised. 

When  we  come  to  notice  the  testimony  of  the  Teaching  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles  we  find  the  two  modes  in  use.  *'  But  if  thou 
hast  not  running  water,  baptize  in  otlier  water  ;  and  if  thou  canst 
not  in  cold,  then  in  warm.  But  if  thou  hast  neither,  pour  water 
upon  the  head  thrice,  into  the  name  of  Father  and  Son  and  Holy 
Spirit." 

The  mode  known  to  Tertullian  is  trine  immersion,  yet  at  the 
same  time  he  speaks  of  an  affusion  as  a  part  of  the  baptismal  cere- 
mony, and  when  he  alludes  to  the  devils  imitating  Christian  baptism 
it  is  by  sprinkling  and  washing. 

That  baptism  by  sprinkling  or  aspersion  was  practised  in  case  of 
the  sick  and  the  infirm  is  generally  conceded.  This  seems  to  be  a 
further  indication  of  a  degree  of  freedom  in  the  mode. 
ap  ism.  fpj^jg  clinical  baptism  was  not  regarded  with  favor  by 
a  large  portion  of  the  Church  ;  in  some  instances  its  validity  was 
seriously  questioned.  Yet  the  high-church  Cyprian,  by  whom  the 
preservation  of  the  unity  of  the  Church  and  of  apostolic  traditions 
was  regarded  of  utmost  importance,  clearly  decided  in  a  test  case  for 
the  validity  of  clinic  baptism :  "  I  think  the  divine  benefits  can  in  no 
respect  be  mutilated  and  weakened  ;  nor  can  any  thing  less  occur  in 
that  case,  where,  with  full  and  entire  faith  both  of  the  giver  and  re- 
ceiver, is  accepted  what  is  drawn  from  the  divine  gifts.  For  in  the 
sacraments  of  salvation  the  contagion  of  sins  is  not  in  siich  wise 
Cyprian's opin-  washed  away,  as  the  filth  of  the  skin  and  of  the  body  is 
ion-  washed  away  in  the  carnal  and  ordinary,"  etc.  ...  "In 

the  sacraments  of  salvation,  when  necessity  compels,  and  God  be- 
stows his  mercy,  the  divine  methods  confer  the  whole  benefit  on 
believers  ;  nor  ought  it  to  trouble  any  one  that  sick  people  seem  to 
be  sprinkled  or  affused,  wlien  they  obtain  the  Lord's  grace,"  etc. 
..."  Whence  it  appears  that  the  sprinkling  also  of  water  prevails 
equally  with  the  washing  of  salvation,"  etc.^ 

From  the  question  of  Magnus,  as  well  as  from  the  answer  of 
Clinic  baptism  ^yP''^^'^^  i^  is  plain  that  clinic  baptism  was  not  gener- 
not  encour-  ally  regarded  with  favor  by  the  Church  of  the  first 
three  centuries.  Nevertheless,  the  opposition  to  it  did 
not  appear  to  come  so  much  from  a  disbelief  in  the  efficacy  of  the 
mode  itself  as  from  the  doubt  entertained  with  respect  to  the  sound- 

^  Ep.l5  (19),  adMaynum,  cc.  12,  13-1 7. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM.  453 

ness  of  the  faith  of  the  recipient,  since  the  delay  of  baptism  till  the 
time  of  infirmity  or  of  tlireatened  death  seemed  to  imply  a  con- 
tempt for  tlie  ordinance  and  a  neglect  of  the  duties  which  its 
acceptance  imposed.  For  Cyprian  clearly  affirms  that  the  mode  is 
of  little  importance,  provided  the  faith  of  the  recipient  and  of  the 
ministrant  is  genuine.  This,  and  not  the  simple  mode,  is  the  reason 
why  the  person  receiving  clinical  baptism  was  gener-  xhe  mode  not 
ally  ineligible  to  the  clerical  office.  The  suspicion  of  objectionaWe. 
dishonesty  and  the  disqualification  could  be  removed  only  by  an 
unwonted  proof  of  zeal  and  devotion.  Thus  a  variety  of  mode  is 
found  back  in  the  second  and  third  centuries. 

When  we  come  to  the  monumental  evidence  there  is  not  found 
in  any  instance  an  example  of  immersion.  From  the  Monumental 
frescos  of  the  second   century  throughout  the    entire  evidence  indi- 

•'  ...  cat«s  variety  of 

cycle  of  early  Christian  art  the  evidence  is  in  favor  of  mode. 
affusion.     In  Figs.  126,  127,  129,  some  have  maintained  that  a  com- 
pleted immersion  is  represented  ;  that  as  the  artist  could  not  repre- 
sent the  entire  process  he  chose  to  portray  one  moment  in  the  act. 
But  why  always  the  same  moment  ?  '     De  Rossi  is  of  the  oj^inion 
that  the  performance  of  the  rite  by  pouring  was  by  no 
means  exceptional  in  the  early  Church,  and  that  the 
catacombs  agree  with  the  oldest  form  in  this  matter,  as  given   in 
the  Didache.'-     He  also  maintains  that  the  normal  baptism  was  per- 
formed in  the  early  Church  by  a  mode  which  united  immersion  and 
affusion  in  a  single  rite,  making  them  separate  parts  of  a  repeated 

ritual.^     Roller,  on  the  other  hand,  is  inclined  to  the 

•    •  ^     .      ^  11  I'T-i  Roller. 

opinion  that  the  usages  could  not  be  identical  every- 
where, and  that  the  Roman  Church  had  a  less  complete  form  than 
the  trine  immersion  of  the  African  Church."* 

The  monuments  certainly  teach  us  that  the  candidate  was  bap- 
tized standing  in  the  water,  and  the  affusion  was  a  supplement  to 
the  water  below.*  The  custom  of  the  oriental  bath  comes  in  here 
to  give  a  sidelight.  In  the  Homeric  and  Roman  baths  the  vessel 
"  seems  not  to  have  contained  water  itself,  but  to  have  been  used 
for  the  bathers  to  sit  in  while  water  was  poured  over  them." "  In 
his  Charioles  Becker  writes  of  the  Grecian  public  baths  as  follows  : 
"  In  the  vase  paintings  we  never  meet  with  any  basin  or  tub  wherein 
bathers  might  stand  or  sit.  There  is  alwaj^s  a  round  or  oval  basin, 
resting  on  one  foot,  beside  which  the  bathers  stand,  quite  naked,  to 

'  Strzygowski.  ^  Romische  Quart aJi^chr if t,   1888. 

'  de  Rossi:   Bullettino,  iv,  4,  19  and  20.         •*  Roller:   Cat.  de  Rome,  vol.  i,  p.  131. 
^  Warfield,  "  ArcluEology  of  Baptism,"  Bibliothcca  Sacra,  October,  1896. 
^Becker's  Gal/us. 


454         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

wash  themselves."  The  bathing  was  accomplished  by  the  appli- 
cation of  water  to  the  person.  In  some  of  these  Greek  pictures  the 
water  descends  uj^on  the  bathers  in  a  shower  ;  in  others,  persons 
are  present  who  i^our  warm  or  cold  water  upon  the  bather. 

The  conclusion  to  which  the  evidence  leads  us  is  that  a  large  lib- 
erty has  prevailed  from  the  beginning  as  to  the  mode 

Conclusion.  <•       j      •    •  ^  ^i  -^         /•    /-^T    •   .  •  i  •  mi 

or  administering  the  rite  oi  Christian  baptism.  The 
root  idea  is  found  in  the  cleansing  prescribed  by  the  Jewish  cere- 
No  stereotyped  monial  purification,  the  application  of  water  as  a  symbol 
forms.  of  moral  renewal.     No  stereotyped  forms  are  given  in 

the  New  Testament,  Fundamental  ideas  are  given,  but  the  de- 
tails are  left  to  be  adjusted  to  varying  conditions.  In  this  conclu- 
sion the  latest  Christian  scholarship  concurs.'  Hence  baptism  by 
d  b  aspersion  is  made  alternative  with  trine  immersion  in 
the  Celtic  the  earliest  extant  Irish  baptismal  office."  While  the 
Church.  Greek  Church  adhered  to  trine  immersion  with  great 

tenacity,  and  to-day  practises  this  mode  in  all  its  chief  churches, 
Also  by  Coptic  ^^  Coptic  and  Armenian  Churches  have  recognised  the 
and  other  validity  of  trine  aspersion  from  the  earliest  pei-iod  of 
urc  as.  their  history.'     The  Syriac  Churches  of  the  seventh  cen- 

tury also  admitted  the  propriety  of  infant  baptism  and  the  validity 
of  aspersion.^ 

§  9.    Times  and  Places  of  Baptism. 

In  the  apostolic  Church  the  time  and  place  of  baptism  were  mat- 
Apostoiic  cus-  ters  of  indifference.  In  accordance  with  the  general 
*°"^-  methods  of  missionary  propagandism,  the  circumstances 

and  the  proprieties  of  the  various  occasions  determined.  As  else- 
where stated,  the  time  seems  to  have  been  almost  immediately  on 
the  pi-ofession  of  faith  in  Jesus  as  the    Messias.     This  liberty  con- 

^v.  McGiffert:  The  Apostolic  Age,  p.  542.  New  York,  1897.  J.  F.  Hurst:  "That 
immersion  was  practised  in  the  early  Church  is  generally  conceded  by  exegetes  and 
Church  historians,  but  not  to  the  exclusion  of  other  modes."  History  of  the  Christian 
Church,  vol.  i,  p.  14.    New  York,  189*7.     See  also  Schaff,  Sheldon,  and  others. 

^Warren:   Tlie  Lit^irgy  and  Ritual  of  the  Celtic  Church,  Oxford,  1881,  p.  65. 

^v.  Butler:   Op.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  264,  265. 

*v.  Kayser:  Die  Canones  Jacob  von  Edessa,  Leipzig,  1887,  Question  and  An- 
swer .31.  V.  Presbyteria7i  Review,  January,  1888,  pp.  150,  151.  The  English  and 
American  Baptist  Churches,  according  to  Dr.  William  H.  Whitsitt,  article  "  Baptists" 
in  Johnson's  Universal  Cyclopcedia,  1896,  did  not  generally  practise  immersion  pre- 
vious to  1641.  It  is  this  date  which  he  assigns  for  the  introduction  of  immersion. 
He  shows  that  in  1639  Roger  Williams  obtained  rebaptism,  together  with  eleven 
others,  and  that  "the  ceremony  was  most  likely  performed  by  sprinkling."  Immer- 
sion was  introduced  two  years  later.  A  certain  Mr.  Lucar  is  said  to  have  been  the 
founder  of  immersion  in  America. 


THE    SACRAMENT   OF    BAPTISM.  455 

tinned  into  the  second  century,'  and  was,  indeed,  never  wholly- 
lost.' 

The  opinion  entertained  by  many  early  Christian  fathers  relative  to 
the  magical  power  of  the  water  in  baptism,  as  well  as  Reasons  of  de- 
the  doctrine  that  baptism  purged  away  the  sins  of  the  ^^y- 
past,  but  did  not  avail  for  future  offences,  caused  many  to  delay 
their  baptism  as  long  as  possible.  In  case  of  great  offenders  this 
was  sometimes  done  upon  the  advice  of  the  Church.  But  this  delay 
was  often  the  occasion  of  administering  severe  rebukes  to  those  who 
were  influenced  by  selfish  considerations  to  continue  in  sin,  or  neg- 
lected the  ordinance  through  carelessness  or  indifference. 

There  was  no  fixed  and  unalterable  time  for  performing  the  rite. 
In  cases  of  peril  neither  place,  time,  mode,  nor  ministrant  was  abso- 
lutely prescribed;  the  general  belief  that  baptism  was  essential  to 
salvation  allowed  nothing  to  prevent  its  administration.  Neverthe- 
less, the  Church  was  accustomed  to  appoint  stated  times  when  bap- 
tism would  be  administered  to  those  who  had  been  prepared  by 
careful  preliminary  instruction.  The  times  considered  Favourite  times 
most  appropriate  and  sacred  were  Easter,  Pentecost,  and  ^°^  baptism. 
Epiphany.  From  the  second  century  these  were  observed  as  fit  seasons 
by  the  Eastern  and  Western  as  well  as  the  Coptic  churches.'  At  a 
later  period,  Avhen  the  martyrs  became  objects  of  peculiar  veneration, 
and  the  anniversaries  of  their  martyrdom  were  observed  with  special 
care,  these  were  favourite  times  for  the  administration  of  baptism. 

Nevertheless,  these  seasons  were  not  absolutely  obligatory,  since 
Tertullian   says,  "Every  day  is  the  Lord's  day;  every  ^    reasonable 
hour  and  every  time  is  appropriate  for  baptism,  if  men   liberty, 
are  fit  and  prepared  for  it.     All  places,  too,  are  equally  available."  * 

In  accordance  with  this  principle  of  freedom  baptism  was  some- 
times administered  in  private  houses,  and  doubtless,  in   „ 

.,,,.'  Sometimes  ad- 

times  of  persecution,  the  chapels  m  the  catacombs  of  ministered  in 
Rome  were  likcAvise  used  for  this  purpose.  The  monu-  p"^*^*^  houses. 
mental  evidence  of  this  practice  is  entirely  conclusive.     The  private 

'  V.  The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve,  chap.  vii. 

'  Baptism  in  a  private  liouse  was  first  inhibited  by  conciliary  action  in  the  sixth 
century,     v.  Hefele:    Conciliengeschichte,  Bd.  ii.  s.  698. 

^  Numerous  passages  in  the  writings  of  TertulHan,  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Jerome, 
Chrysostom,  etc.,  as  well  as  the  "  Constitutions  "  and  conciliary  canons,  attest  this 
practice.  Tertullian :  de  Coron.  Milit.,  c.  3,  says  that  the  whole  fifty  days  between 
Easter  and  Pentecost  were  kept  as  a  continuous  festival,  during  which  baptisms 
were  more  frequent,  v.  Butler:  The  Ancient  Coptic  Churches  of  Egypt,  Oxford,  1884. 
"From  the  remotest  antiquity  to  the  present  dny  tlie  season  most  commended  for 
baptism  is  the  feast  of  Epiphany."     Vol.  ii,  pp.  262,  263. 

•*  de  Bapt,  c.  4. 


45G         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 


oratory,  discovered  in  the  vicinity  of   the  baths    of   Diocletian,' 
whose   walls   were   decorated  with   the   symbols  of   baptism,  was 
probably  used  to  baptize  the  members  of  the  household.      Likewise 
there  are  several  instances  of  chapels  and  fonts  in  the  catacombs. 
After  the  recognition  of  Christianity  by  the  state,  baptism,  like 
other  Church  sacraments,  was  celebrated  with  greater 
pomp  and  ceremony.     Separate  buildings  (baptisteries) 
were  erected,  in  which  conveniences  were  provided  for  the  observance 
of  a  more  carefully  prescribed  ritual.     They 
constitute  an  interesting  class  of  architectural 
forms  which  have  survived  from  the  fourth, 
fifth,  and  sixth  centuries,  and  furnish  valuable 
suggestions  relative  to  the  state  of  art  during 
this  period  (v.  pp.  222-224).     Their  arrange- 
ment, the  position  and  relation  of  the  font,  the 
frescos  and  mosaics,  give  hints  respecting  the 
rite  of  baptism,  and  the  importance  attaching 
to  the  accompanying  ceremonies.     These  bap- 
tisteries, oiKoi  Tov  f3a7TTiOTr}Qiov,\vere  sometimes 
of  considerable  dimensions,  to  accommodate  the 
thousands  seeking  baptism  on  the  great  feast 
days  in  the  cathedral  churches  of  the 
large  towns,  and  were  occasionally 
used  as  the  places  of  assembly  of  the 
councils.    They  belong  to  the  regular 
central  style  of  architecture,  having 

Fig.  136.— A  baptistery.  From  a  sarcopha-    their  outline  circular  or  pol  vgonal. 
gus,  Rome.  XT       1^,1  •     /■  .1  '       .    .■ 

b  ig.  136  IS  from  the  representation 

of  a  baptistery  sculptured  on  a  sarcophagus  at  Rome.*     It  is  circu- 
Exarapies  of  lar  in  outline,  covered 
baptisteries.   y^[i\^  ^  fl^t  dome,  sur- 
mounted by  the  favourite  Con- 
stantinian  monogram,  ^. 

Fig.  137  is  the  groundplan  and 
connected  arcade  of  a  baptistery 
at  Deir  -  Seta  in  Central  Syi'ia, 
described  by  de  Vogiie.^     It  is 

hexagonal,    the     central     dome         , ^ 

resting  upon   six  columns  which  p^g.  137.- Groundplan  of  a  baptistery  at  Deir- 
surround  the  font   itself.     This  seta,  central  Syria. 

was  the  usual  form  of  the  baptisteries  in  the  Orient, 

'  V.  Bullettino  di  Arch,  crist,  1876.  ^  Garrucci:  Storia,  etc.,  t.  cccxxiii, 

^  de  Vogiie :  Syrie  Centrale,  pi.  cxvii. 


^      © 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM. 


457 


Fig.    138   is   a  vertical   section  of  the   noted  baptistery   of   St. 
John   in    Lateran,    Rome.       Only    the    central    portion,    which    is 
covered  by  the  dome,  is  here  given,  in  order  to  show   san   Giovanni 
the  position  of  the  font  and  to  illustrate  the  rich  and  *°  Laterano. 
suggestive  mosaic  decoration    which  is   frequently  found   in   this 


Fiff.  138.— Vertical  section  of  the  central  portion  of  the  baptistery  of  San  Giovanni  in  Lateran, 

Rome. 

class  of  buildings.     The  central  mosaic  of  the  first  zone  represents 
a  baptismal   scene,  in  which  the  same  mode  of  administration  is 
suggested  as  in  the  monuments  which  have  already  been  described 
(v.  pp.  444-446). 
Fig.  139  is  a  vertical  section  of  the  baptistery  of  Albegna,'  Italy. 

'  V.  Dehio  u.  Bezold :  Op.  cit,  taf.  3,  Figs.  5,  6. 


458 


SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 


It  is  probably  of  the  seventh  or  eighth  century.  It  gives  the 
Baptistery  of  arrangement  of  the  steps  leading  to  the  font,  and  of 
Aibegna.  i]^q  chapels  which  are  contained  in  the  space  covered 

by  the  lean-to  roof.     This  and  Fig.  138  are  octagonal  in  ground- 


139.— Vertical  section  of  the  baptistery  in  Aibegna,  Italy. 


plan.  Both  will  illustrate  the  manner  in  which  adjacent  parts  were 
added  to  the  original  baptistery,  until  an  imposing  structure,  con- 
venient for  purposes  of  assembly  and  worship,  was  the  result. 


§  10.  Immediate  Preliminaries  to  Baptism. 

Prior  to  the  administration  of  the  rite  the  candidates  were  re- 
Profession  of  quired  to  renounce  the  devil  and  all  his  works,  to  profess 
faith  required,  faith  in  a  prescribed  creed,  and  to  promise  to  live  in 
obedience  to  Christ  and  his  precepts.  The  form  and  content  of  the 
creed  varied  fi'om  the  simple  profession  of  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  risen 
Messiah,  to  the  more  lengthy  and  imposing  creeds  formulated  from 
time  to  time  by  the  Church.'  The  promise  of  obedience  to  the 
Church  was  often  made  three  times.  In  the  turning  toward  the 
Renunciation  w'cst,  as  the  place  of  darkness,  when  solemn  renunciation 
of  the  devil  and  of  Satan  was  made,  in  the  turning  to  the  east,  as  the 
source  of  light,  when  promise  of  obedience  was  enjoined, 
and  in  the  triple  renunciation,  promise,  and  confession  of  faith,  there 

^  V.  Const.  Apostol,  1.  vii,  c.  41. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM.  459 

is  noticed  a  system  of  significant  symbolism,  wliich  was  early  intro- 
duced into  ecclesiastical  art  (v.  book  i,  chap.  iii). 

As  early  as  the  latter  part  of  the  second  century  sponsorship  was 

recoffnised  as  an  important,  if  not  a  necessary,  accorapani- 

.  ...  Sponsors. 

ment  of  baptism.     Its  origin  is  not  known.     It  probably 

arose  out  of  the  circumstances  of  peculiar  peril  to  which  the  Church 
was  exposed,  whereby  the  children  would  be  left  in  orphanage,  or 
adults  be  liable  to  lapse  into  paganism.  In  either  case  the  sponsors 
were  regarded  as  sureties:  in  case  of  children  for  their  care  and  re- 
ligious training,  in  case  of  adults  for  their  sound  conversion  and 
genuine  Christian  character  at  the  time  of  their  presentation  for 
baptism.*  The  caution  used  by  the  early  Church  in  the  philosophy  of 
choice  of  sponsors  clearly  reveals  the  nature  of  this  re-  sponsorship. 
lation;  it  was  that  of  a  guarantor  of  the  moral  life  of  those  about  to 
be  baptized.  Hence,  when  parents  were  permitted  to  be  sponsors 
for  their  children  it  was  not  because  of  this  natural  relationship, 
but  rather  that  they  might  afford  guarantees  for  their  moral  and 
spiritual  character.  In  nearly  all  the  earlier  expositions  of  the  phi- 
losophy of  sponsorship  there  is  a  positive  denial  that  regeneration  of 
the  child  is  effected  by  the  faith  of  either  the  sponsor  , 

or  the  ministrant.'^  Nevertheless,  it  was  held  by  Au-  sponsor  not 
gustine  that  the  faith  of  the  sponsors  may  inure  to  the  ^^^^  '°^' 
advantage  of  the  child,  by  stimulating  to  greater  fidelity  in  educa- 
tion and  watchcare ; '  "  the  promises  of  the  sponsors  were  under- 
stood to  be  made  not  in  their  own  name,  but  in  the  name  of  the 
baptized,  and  that  the  latter  became  subsequently  responsible." 

§  11.  Accompanying  Ceremonies. 

Early  baptism,  in  post-apostolic  times,  was  probably  by  trine  im- 
mersion, pouring,  or  sprinkling  of  the  nude  figure.    The 
Teaching  of  the  Tv^elve  contains  the  oldest  distinct  pre- 
cept as  to  trine  baptism:  "But  if  thou  hast  neither,  pour  water  upon 
the  head  thrice,  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit."*     By  the  close  of  the  second  century  this  was  the  common 
practice.     "  We  dip  not  once,  but  three  times,  at  the       Tertuiiian's 
naming  of  every  person  of  the  Trinity."  "     With  this       testimony. 
statement  of  Tertullian  the  teachings  of  Basil  and  Jerome  are  in 
exact  accord.     So  also  Ambrose  is  minute  in  his  descrip-   Ambrose's  ac- 
tion of  the  rite.     "  Thou  wast  asked.  Dost  thou  believe  c°""'^- 
in  God  the  Father  Almighty  ?     And  thou  repliedst,  I  believe,  and 

'  Const.  Apost,  1.  viii,  c.  32.  *  Augustine:   Ep.  ad  Bonif.,  98. 

^  V.  de  Baptismo;  c.Donatist.  iv,  31 ;  de  Lib.  Arhitr.,  iii,  23. 

■*  V.  chap.  vii.  ^  Tertullian:    cent.  Prax.,  c.  26. 
30 


460         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

wast  dipped,  that  is,  buried.  A  second  demand  was  made.  Dost  thou 
believe  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  and  in  his  cross  ?  Thou  answeredst 
again,  I  believe,  and  wast  dipped.  Thereupon  thou  wast  buried 
with  Christ.  For  he  that  is  buried  with  Christ  rises  again  with 
Christ.  A  third  time  thou  wast  asked,  Dost  thou  believe  in  the 
Holy  Ghost  ?  And  thy  answer  was,  I  believe.  Then  thou  wast 
dipped  a  third  time,  that  thy  triple  confession  might  absolve  thee 
from  the  various  offences  of  thy  former  life." ' 

Different  reasons  for  this  practice  are  found  in  the  writings  of 
„    .  ,      the  Christian  fathers.     Gregoiy  of  Nyssa  and  others, 

Various  expla-  .  .  . 

natioQs  of  the  both  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  Church,  say  that  it  repre- 
practice.  gents  Christ's  three  days'  burial,  and  his  resurrection  on 

the  third  day.  Others  explain  it  as  symbolic  of  our  faith  in  the 
Ti'inity,  into  whose  name  we  are  baptized,  Augustine^  unites 
these  reasons,  in  that  by  trine  immersion  the  Trinity  is  symbolized, 
as  well  as  the  Lord's  burial,  and  resurrection  on  the  third  day. 

Most  of  the  Christian  fathers  from  Tertullian  taught  that  this 
method  of  baptism  was  instituted  by  the  apostles.  The  "  Apostolic 
Canons  "  regard  it  as  of  imperative  obligation,  and  order  the  deposi- 
tion of  any  bishop  or  presbyter  who  shall  administer  the  rite  in  any 
other  way.^      The  Arians  in    Spam  continued  this  practice.      To 

protest  against  this  heretical  sect  the  orthodox  party 
Arians  on  the  was  led  to  abandon  trine  immersion;  and  the  fourth 
practice.  Council  of  Toledo  (A.  D.  633)  decreed*  that  a  single 

immersion  should  be  regarded  as  valid  baptism.  It  was  led  to  this 
decision  by  the  advice  of  Gregory  the  Great,  who  held  that  both 
ways  were  "just  and  unblamable  in  themselves;  nevertheless,  to 
avoid  a  seeming  apj^roval  of  the  Arian  heresy,  it  may  be  advisable 
to  drop  trine,  and  practise  single  immersion."  ^ 

As  further  accompaniments  of  baptism  must  be  noted  unction, 
which  was  performed  by  oil  consecrated  by  the  bishop,  the  imposi- 
tion of  hands,  and  the  sign  of  the  cross.    The  anointing  of  the  body 

of  the  baptized  person  after  leaving  the  water,  called 

Unction.  ,  .  ^        .      /    .  .  ,*'...-,• 

the  unction  or  chrism,  was  or  early  institution.  It  is 
mentioned  by  Tertullian  as  usual  in  his  day.  At  a  later  period  the 
practice  of  anointing  the  body  before  baptism  was  introduced,®  and 
forms  of  consecration  of  the  oil  were  prescribed.  Various  interpre- 
tations of  the  significance  of  these  two  unctions  are  met  in  the 
writings  of  the  fathers.     In  the  Constitutions  is  found  the  injunc- 

^  De  Sacram.,  lib.  2,  c.  7,  as  quoted  by  Binghana :  Antiquities,  etc.,  bk.  xi,  chap.  xi. 
'  De  Consecrat.,  Dist.  4,  c.  78. 

'  V.  Canons  49,  50.  *  Can.  5.  ^  Lib.  i,  Ep.  41. 

^  V.  Ambrose:  De  Sacramentis,  1.  i,  c.  2.      Constit.  Apost.,  1.  7,  c.  42. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM.  461 

tion:  "Thou  shalt  first  of  all  anoint  him  with  the  holy  oil,  and  then 
baptize  him  with  water,  and  afterward  sign  him  with  the  ointment; 
that  the  anointing  with  the  oil  may  be  the  participation  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  the  water  may  be  the  symbol  of  death,  and  the 
signing  with  ointment  may  be  the  seal  of  the  compact  made  with 
God,"  '  etc. 

The  imposition  of  hands  was  to  symbolize  the  reception  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  It  was  used  in  confirmation,  which  gener-  imposition  of 
ally  was  an  accompaniment  of  baptism,  and  completed  *iands. 
the  admission  of  the  candidate  to  the  Church  and  to  a  participation 
in  the  holy  eucharist.  The  sign  of  the  cross  was  used  by  sign  of  the 
the  early  Christians  in  the  most  common  affairs  of  life.  <=™ss- 
It  was  the  symbol  of  conquering  power,  by  which  Satan  and  all  the 
angels  of  darkness  were  driven  out  and  finally  subdued;  its  rich 
and  varied  symbolism  in  connection  with  the  rite  of  baptism  is 
the  theme  of  many  noble  passages  in  early  Christian  literature.  ^ 

'  Const.  Apost.,  lib.  1,  c.  22,  quoted  by  Biugham:    Op.  cit,  bk.  xi,  chap,  ix,  sec.  3. 
2  V.  pp.  83-89. 


4G2        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE     LORD'S     SUPPER 

§  1.   Idea  and  Mode  of  Celebration. 

The  original  eucharistic  meal  was  symbolic.     The  broken  bread 

The  meal  sym-  ^"^^  the  consecrated  cup  were  also  prophetic  of  the  work 

boiic  which  Christ  was  to  accomplish  for  his  disciples  and  for 

the  world.     The  real  sacrifice,  of  which  this  sacrament  was  to  be  a 

remembrance,  was  yet  to  be  accomplished;  hence  the  supper  was 

so  far  prophetic.     The  bread  was  to  symbolize  the  broken  body, 

and   the  cup   the  blood,  which  was  the  pledge  of  the  covenant 

between  God  and  man.     Every  disciple  who,  in  after  time,  should 

worthily   celebrate   this   supper,   in    obedience   to    the 

words  used  by  Christ  in  its  institution,  was  to  break  this 

bread  and  drink  this  wine  in  order  to  recall  the  memory  of  the 

Founder,  the  Great  Sacrifice  for  the  world,  until  he  should  come 

again. 

It  is  probable  that  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  by  the 
Celebrated  fi^'^t  disciples  occurred  daily  in  private  houses,^  in  con- 
daiiy.  nection  with  the  agape,  or  lovefeast.     It  was  of  a  some- 

what festive  character,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  excesses  which 
Paul  reproves  in  the  Corinthian  church,^  and  was  associated  with 
an  ordinary  meal,  at  whose  close  the  bread  and  wine  were  distrib- 
uted to  those  present,  as  a  memorial  of  Christ's  similar  distribution 
to  the  disciples.  The  association  of  a  meal  with  religious  rites 
The  thouRht  had  been  most  familiar  with  the  Jews  during  all  their 
familiar  to  all.  history,  and  was  widely  recognised  by  the  heathen 
world,  both  in  conducting  their  common  festivites  around  an  altar 
with  sacrifices,  and  in  the  funeral  feasts  held  annually  in  the  celled 
in  memory  of  the  deceased  members  of  the  family  or  club.^  Nearly 
Testimony  of  ^11  the  early  frescos  confirm  this  view  of  the  social 
early  frescos,  character  of  the  Supper.  A  table,  around  which  are 
couches  on  which  sit  or  recline  the  participants,  is  the  ordinary 
method  of  representing  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  (see 

'  Acts  li,  46.    The  reference  of  md'  fifiepav  is  uncertain ;  it  may  include  "  the  break- 
ing of  bread  "  as  well  as  the  daily  visits  to  the  temple. 
2  1  Cor.  xi,  20. 
^  V.  Reuan:  Les  Apotres,  pp.  351-354. 


THE   LORD'S   SUPPER.  463 

Figs,  13,  14).  From  the  accounts  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  (Acts 
ii,  42,  46),  as  well  as  from  Paul's  letter  to  the  Corinthian  church 
(1  Cor.  xi,  20,  21),  it  is  safely  inferred  that  the  dis-  a  communal 
ciples  contributed  each  a  share  of  the  food  necessary  ™^*'- 
for  the  meal;  the  community  of  love  and  fellowship  being  herein 
shown,  as  at  first  in  the  gifts  to  a  common  fund  for  the  relief 
of  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem.  To  this  unifying  power  of 
the  eucharist  Paul  evidently  refers  (1  Cor,  x,  16,  17),  From 
the  account  given  of  the  practices  of  the  Corinthian  church 
(1  Cor.  xi,  17-34),  it  is  plain  that  private  members  appropriated 
to  themselves  the  bread  and  wine  which  were  designed  for  the  com- 
mon benefit,  and  did  not  wait  for  the  distribution  of  the  elements 
at  the  hands  of  a  church  officer.  From  the  whole  history,  as 
given  by  Paul,  we  look  in  vain  for  any  evidence  that  a  priestly 
consecration  and  distribution  of  the  bread  and  wine  were  regarded 
as  necessary  to  the  validity  of  the  sacrament.  Neither  in  Christ's 
original  institution  of  the  supper,  nor  in  this  fullest  account  by 
Paul,  when,  if  at  all,  such  authority  would  have  been  asserted,  nor 

elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament,  is  found  any  evidence   ,,     ,   .  . 

'  •'  Its  admmistra- 

that  the  Lord's  Supper  was  to  be  consecrated  only  by  a  tion  not  con- 
chosen  or  appointed  class.  "  Consequently  the  limita-  fl°ed  to  a  class. 
tion  of  its  administration  to  the  officers  of  the  church  cannot  claim 
undoubted  apostolic  authority."  ^  This  was  in  accordance  with  other 
features  of  the  Church  while  in  its  plastic  period.  That  the  distinc- 
tive functions  of  the  officers  of  the  apostolic  period  had  not  yet  been 
fully  differentiated  is  thus  manifest  in  connection  with  the  ad- 
ministration of  both  the  great  sacraments  instituted  by  Christ. 
Moreover,  this  lack  of  an  official  character  was  in  in  harmony 
perfect  harmony  with  the  idea  of  a  universal  priest-  of'theumversai 
hood,  which  was  prevalent  in  the  early  years  of  the  priesthood. 
history  of  the  Church.  Each  householder  was  the  highpriest  of  his 
own  family,  competent  to  do  all  things  necessary  to  their  spiritual 
upbuilding,  including  the  celebration  of  the  sacred  meal  in  mem- 
ory of  his  Lord.  But,  in  accordance  with  the  unifying  principle 
already  referred  to,  it  is  probable  that  this  sacrament  was  usually 
observed  in  a  congregation  of  believers.  It  seems  that  during  the 
early  apostolic  period  the  method  of  keeping  the  Supper  how  ceiebrat- 
recalled  the  last  meeting  of  Christ  with  his  disciples.  ®<*- 
It  was  accompanied  by  prayer  (Matt,  xxvi,  27;  Mark  xiv,  22,  23; 
Luke  xxii,  17)  and  singing  of  hymns  (Matt,  xxvi,  30),  and  was  con- 
nected with  a  social  meal,  the  agape,  to  indicate  that  its  purpose 
was  the  expi'ession  of  brotherly  love.  The  offering  of  thanks  and 
^  V.  Beet:   Commentary  on  1  Cor.,  in  loco. 


404         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

praise  [evxaQiona,  evXoyia,  1  Cor.  xi,  24;  1  Cor.  x,  16)  was  probably 
followed  with  the  holy  kiss  [(piXrjiia  dyiov,  Rom.  xvi,  16;  1  Cor. 
xvi,  20). 

Under  Trajan  the  strict  edicts  against  secret  societies  compelled 
The  agape  dis-  the  Separation  of  the  agape  from  the  Lord's  Supper, 
continued.  The  former,  being  adjudged  by  the  emperor  to  per- 
tain to  the  secret  clubs,  kraiQelai,  which  had  awakened  the  sus- 
picion of  the  government  by  being  held  in  the  evening,  was 
discontinued,  and  the  Lord's  Supper  was  connected  with  the  public 
worship.  The  necessity  for  observing  this  sacrament  in  connec- 
tion with  the  open  and  more  public  services,  and  the  institution 
of  the  catechumenate  and  other  forms  of  training  and  discipline, 
The  two  parts  gradually  led  to  the  division  of  worship  into  the  viissa 
of  worship.  catechumenorum  and  the  missa  fideliuni.  From  the 
circumstance  that  unbaptized  persons,  and  such  as  were  under 
church  discipline,  as  well  as  all  others  not  in  full  communion 
with  the  Church,  were  excluded  from  the  assembly  before  the 
celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  idea  of  a  mystery  (iivorrj- 
piov)  soon  attached  to  this  rite,  and  gave  rise  to  the  so  called  dis- 
ciplina  arcani.  This  was,  however,  of  later  institution;  probabl}'- 
not  earlier  than  the  time  of  Tertullian.  In  the  earliest  notices  of 
g.  ,.  .  .  the  Lord's  Supper  a  simple  and  almost  literal  imitation 
its  early  obser-  of  the  meal  as  instituted  by  Christ  is  prevalent.  In  the 
vance.  ^  Teaching  of  the  Twelve "   the  instructions  for  cele- 

brating the  eucharist  are  as  simple  and  archaic  as  those  respecting 
baptism.  There  is  a  marked  absence  of  involved  ritual  and  mys- 
tery; it  is  truly  a  eucharistic  meal.  "Now  concerning  the  eucha- 
The  "Teach-  I'ist,  thus  give  thanks;  first  concerning  the  cup:  We 
'°^-"  thank  thee,  our  Father,  for  the  holy  vine  of  David  thy 

servant,  which  thou  hast  made  known  to  us  through  Jesus  th}^  ser- 
vant; to  thee  be  the  glory  forever.  And  concerning  the  broken 
bread:  We  thank  thee,  our  Father,  for  the  life  and  the  knowledge 
which  thou  hast  made  known  to  us  through  Jesus  thy  servant ;  to 
thee  be  the  glory  forever.  Just  as  this  bi-oken  bread  was  scattered 
over  the  hills  and  having  been  gathered  together  became  one,  so  let 
thy  Church  be  gathered  together  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  into 
thy  kingdom;  for  thine  is  the  glory  and  the  power. through  Jesus 
Christ  forever.  But  let  no  one  eat  or  drink  of  3^our  eucharist,  ex- 
cept those  baptized  into  the  Lord's  name;  for  in  regard  to  this  the 
Lord  hath  said:  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  to  the  dogs."  ' 

After  the  feast  [fxera  6e  rb  efxnXrjGd'^vai),  thanksgiving  shall  be 
offered  for  "  the  knowledge  and  faith  and  immortality  "  made  known 
•  Aidaxv  TO)v  SuSeku  AnodTo'Xuv,  chap.  ix. 


THE   LORD'S   SUPPER.  465 

through  Jesus,  and  "  for  spiritual  food  and  drink  and  eternal  life 
through  thy  servant."  Also  supplication  for  the  Church,  that  it 
may  be  saved  from  evil  and  made  perfect  in  love.' 

In  Justin  Martyr's  account  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  noticed  an 
almost  like  simplicity  as  in  the  "  Teaching."  There  is  hardly  a 
trace  of  a  secret  discipline,  since  this  father,  in  his  first  Apology,  is 
frank  in  his  account  of  both  the  Christian  sacraments.''  Neverthe- 
less, a  change  from  the  apostolic  custom  is  noticed  in  the  fact  that 
special  celebrants  or  oflicers  are  now  recognised.  "There  is  brought 
to  the  president  of  the  brethren  bread  and  a  cup  of  wine  mixed 
with  water."  ^  The  deacons  distribute  the  consecrated  justin Martyr's 
elements,  and  to  those  who  are  absent  they  carry  away  account. 
a  portion ;  none  but  the  believers  or  the  baptized  are  admitted  to  the 
meal — "  to  feast  on  the  flesh  and  blood  of  that  Jesus  who  was  made 
flesh."  * 

In  Tertullian's  account  there  is  scarcely  more  formality.  His 
object  in  giving  the  statement  is  to  refute  the  vile  calumnies 
made  against  the  Christians,  that  in  their  private  dwellings  they 
were  guilty  of  practices  more  shameless  than  attached  to  the  heathen 
mysteries.  The  central  thought  of  the  feast  is  love.  "  The  Greeks 
call  it  dydnr],  that  is,  love."  "  As  it  is  an  act  of  relig-  Tertullian's 
ious  service  it  permits  no  vileness  or  immorality."  "  As  account. 
the  feast  commenced  with  prayer,  so  with  prayer  it  is  closed.  We 
go  from  it  ...  to  have  as  much  care  of  our  modesty  and  chastity 
as  if  we  had  been  at  a  school  of  virtue  rather  than  a  banquet."  ^ 

The  order  of  the  service  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  ante-Nicene  times 
was  nearly  as  follows:  First,  after  the  prayers,  the  kiss  order  of  ceie- 
of  peace  was  given  between  man  and  man,  and  woman  Nation. 
and  woman — this  having  apostolic  sanction.^  Second,  the  two  parts 
of  the  service  proper,  namely,  the  oblation,  which  was  the  pres- 
entation of  the  offerings  for  the  feast,  and  for  the  poor  and  the 
clergy  ;  and  the  eo)nmuiiion,  or  the  partaking  of  the  consecrated  ele- 
ments. Both  parts  of  the  service  were  accompanied  with  prayer 
and  praise.  It  is  not  easy  to  determine  whether  the  service  was  in 
regular  ritualistic  form,  or  was  extemporaneous.  Probably  with  a 
perfect  freedom  the  uttered  prayers  became  fixed  through  repeti- 
tion, and  a  regular  liturgy  was  here,  as  elsewhere,  the  result  of  in- 
fluences exerted  through  many  decades  of   history.     At  first  the 

'  Ibid. :  chap.  x.  '  Apol.  i,  cc.  61,  65.  ^  JpoZ.  i,  c.  65. 

"  .4^0?.  i,  c.  66.  *  Apol,  c.  .39. 

*  Rom.  -Tvi,  16;  2  Cor.  xiii,  12;  1  Thess.  v,  26.  The  kiss  of  peace  was  continued 
into  the  post-Nicene  period,  and  was  sanctioned  by  conciliary  action,  v.  Cone.  Laodic,, 
can.  19. 


4G6        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

bread  was  the  common  bread  of  the  various  countries,  thougli  in 
later  centuries  the  Latin  church  insisted  on  unleavened  bread.  The 
wine  was  mingled  with  water,  and  the  communicants,  standing,  re- 
ceived both  elements  in  the  hands  from  the  officiating  deacons. 
Portions  of  the  sanctified  bread  were  sometimes  borne  to  their 
homes  by  the  members,  where  the  family  communion  was  repeated 
in  one  kind.  This  practice  was  especially  frequent  in  the  North 
Infant  com-  African  church  in  Cyprian's  day,  where  the  practice  of 
munion.  infant  communion  with  wine  alone  was  in  vogue.     The 

custom  of  the  apostolic  Church,  for  all  communicants  to  make  ob- 
lations of  bread  and  wine  and  other  things  to  supply  the  elements 
of  the  holy  eucharist,  and  gifts  to  the  poor,  was  contin- 
by  the  whole  ued  through  all  the  early  history  of  Christianity,  and, 
Church.  j^  ^  modified  form,   until  the  twelfth   century.     The 

writings  of  the  fathers,  from  Justin  Martyr  to  Augustine,  recognise 
this  oblation  as  made  by  the  entire  company  of  believers.  They 
upbraid  those  who  from  neglect  or  penuriousness  fail  to  bring 
their  appropriate  contributions  to  the  general  fund,  and  carefully 
distinguish  as  to  the  character  of  the  gifts  which  will  be  accepted. 
What  offerings  Offerings  made  by  extortioners,  usurers,  corrupt  per- 
exciuded.  sons,  or  obtained  by  fraudulent  means,  were  rejected; 

and  Ambrose  used  the  threat  that  the  offerings  of  Valentinian 
would  not  be  accepted  by  the  Church,  to  induce  his  refusal  of  the 
prayer  of  Symmachus  to  restore  the  heathen  altars.* 

In  accordance  with  a  law  of  development  in  church  governmen) 
^  .  ^  ,   and  discipline,  the  ceremonies  connected  with  the  conse- 

Liturgical  ,  I  ' 

forms  gradual-  cration  of  the  elements  became  more  and  more  formal 
y  eve  ope  .  ^^^  involved,  as  they  were  further  removed  from  the 
plastic  condition  of  the  apostolic  age.  From  the  simple  prayer  of 
thanksgiving  and  consecration,  used  by  Christ  and  by  the  Church 
of  the  first  and  second  centuries,  extended  and  carefully  pre- 
scribed liturgical  forms  appear,  the  work  of  great  churchmen,  or 
the  result  of  conciliary  discussion  and  decision.  Such  forms  of  the 
consecration  of  the  eucharist  are  met  in  the  Apostolic  Constitutions 
of  the  fourth  century,"  and  in  the  principal  liturgies  of  the  Eastern 
and  Western  churches.  It  is  believed  that  no  regularly  prescribed 
liturgies  were  used  in  the  ante-Nicene  period.  The  earlier  recognition 
of  a  disciplitia  arcani  partially  accounts  for  this;  for  when  Chris- 
tianity became  the  religion  of  the  state,  and  the  celebration  of  the 
eucharist  was  made  a  public  act,  a  great  number  of  written  liturgies 
were  prepared,  both  in  the  orthodox  and  heretical  churches.  While 
greatly  differing  in  minor  particulars,  these  great  liturgies  are  based 
'  V.  Ep.  30,  ad  Valent.  *  Const.  Apost.,  lib.  viii,  c  13. 


THE  LORD'S   SUPPER.  467 

upon  the  earlier  and  simpler  order  of  consecration  and  communion. 
Nevertheless  they  were  often  of  great  length,  and  were  character  of 
accompanied  with  many  impressive  ceremonies,  espe-  ^^®  liturgies. 
cially  frequent  musical  recitations  by  the  choirs  and  responses  by 
the  people.  As  a  rule,  the  Oriental  churches  accepted  the  most 
extensive  and  involved  liturgies  in  the  celebration  of  the  eucharist, 
while  the  Western  centered  on  a  single  feature  of  the  divine  mani- 
festation— Christ's  redeeming  work,* 

As  with  respect  to  the  constitution  of  the  Church  and  the  func- 
tions of  church  officers,  so  also  with  respect  to  the  eu-  „       ,  ,^ 

'  ^  No  early  theory 

charist,  the  apostolic   Church   had   no  clearly  defined  of  the  mode  of 
doctrine  as  to  the  mode  of  its  operation.      The  first  1"^^  oP'^'''^"o°- 
Christians   received    the  bread    and  wine   with   thanksgiving   and 
gladness  of  heart,  without  inquiring  into  the  manner  of  Christ's 
presence  in  the  elements.     There  is  no  evidence  what-  „ 

^  ^  ,  _  _  No  recognition 

ever  that  it  was  regarded  as  a  sin-offering  or  sacrifice,*  of  a  sin-offer- 
The  only  sacrifice  recognised  is  that  of  the  person  of  ^°^' 
the  believer  with  all  his  powers  (Rom,  xii,  1;  Phil,  ii,  15-17,  ei  al.). 
The  most  that  can  be  stated  is  that  those  who  had  worthily  par- 
ticipated in  the  Supper  were  thus  brought  into  conscious  union  with 
their  Lord,  as  in  other  religions  the  worshipper  was  conceived  to  be 
brought  near  the  divinity  through  the  medium  of  an  offering  by 
the  priest. 

The  " Teaching  of  the  Apostles "  speaks  of  a  sacrifice:  "  But  on 
the  Lord's  day  do  ye  assemble  and  break  bread,  and  give  thanks, 
after  confessing  your  transgressions,  in  order  that  your  sacrifice, 
i]  dvaia  vfiibv,  may  be  pure.  But  every  one  that  hath  controversy 
with  his  friend,  let  him  not  come  together  with  you,  until  they  be 
reconciled,  that  your  sacrifice,  rj  dvaia  vficjv,  may  not  be  profaned." ' 

Yet  it  is  manifest  that  the  term  sacrifice  is  here  used  in   , 

In  what  sense 

a  very  different  sense  from  that  of  a  levitical  or  priestly   "sacriflce"was 
oblation,  since  the  offering  here  made  is  by  the  entire   ""  erstoo  . 
community  of  disciples,  thus  preserving  the  thought  of  the  universal 
priesthood  of  believers.     In  arguing  against  the  Docetists,  Ignatius 
calls  the  eucharist  "  the  flesh  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  which 

'  This  is  in  harmony  with  the  theory  of  worship  in  these  churches.  The  Greek 
inohides  tlie  entire  circle  of  the  divine  manifestation,  from  the  creation  to  the  final 
triumph  of  the  glorified  Church.  The  Latin,  on  the  contrary,  proposes  a  narrower 
sphere  in  its  tiieory  of  worship,  to  which  its  liturgy  strictly  corresponds.  It  is  the 
manifestation  of  the  history  of  redemption,  as  this  culminates  in  the  passion  and  aton- 
ing death  of  Jesus  Christ.     Its  liturgy  must  be  correspondingly  abbreviated. 

^  Hofling:  Die  Lehre  der  dltesten  Kirche  vom  Opfer  ini  Leben  und  Cultus  der  Christen, 
Erlaugen.  1851,  ss.  45,  seq. 

*  Ai6a,X7i  TG)v  6o)6EKa  AnodToXcjv,  chap.  xiv. 


4G8         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OP  EARLY  CHURCH. 

suffered  for  our  sins,  and  which  the  Father,  of  his  goodness,  raised 
up  again ;  "  '  and  again  he  speaks  of  the  Church  "  breaking  one  and 
the  same  bread,  which  is  the  medicine  of  immortality,  and  the  anti- 
dote to  prevent  us  from  dying,  but  that  we  should  live  forever  in 
Jesus  Christ." '  Such  language  appears  to  express  a  belief  in  the 
real  i^resence  of  Christ  in  the  eucharist,  yet  is  not  absolutely 
determining.  A  very  similar  view  would  be  inferred  from  the  lan- 
_    ^     ,     ^    sjcuas^e  of  Justin  Martyr^  and  Irenaeus.*     The  latter,  how- 

The  bread  and    »      »  y  _  ' 

winearearche-  ever,  elsewhere  implies  that  the  bread  and  wine  are  the 
*^P^^'  archetypes  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.     This  is 

also  the  view  which  is  met  in  the  Apostolic  Constitutions  ^  and  in 
many  of  the  Greek  fathers  of  the  first  four  centuries. 

The  African  church  seemed  to  fluctuate  between  the  symbolical 
The  view  of  the  interpretation  of  the  words  of  the  institution  of  the 
African  Church.  Supper  and  the  idea  of  the  real  presence  in  the  ele- 
ments. The  strong  development  of  the  priestly  character  of  the 
clergy  by  Cyprian  led  him  to  view  the  eucharist  as  a  sacrifice. 

The  Alexandrian  church  were  generally  inclined  to  regard  the 
The  Aiexandri-  bread  and  wine  as  symbols  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
an  view.  Christ,   and  the  feast   as   spiritual   in   its   nature   and 

ofiice. 

The  idea  of  a  sacrifice  is  expressed  in  the  language  of  nearly  all 

the  ante-Nicene  fathers,  but  it  is  more  a  commemora- 
Thecommemo-      _  _        '  _ 

ration  of  a  sac-  tion  of  the  One  sacrifice  for  sin  made  by  the  offering 
'^'  ^'  of   Christ,    "once   for   all,"  upon    the   cross,   with  the 

added  thought  of  thanksgiving  for  the  plan  of  redemption.  As 
late  as  the  twelfth  century  this  thought  was  perpetuated  by  the 
custom  of  the  presentation  of  the  eucharistic  elements  by  the  entire 
congregation,  the  universal  priesthood  of  believers  being  thus 
exhibited. 

The  notion  of  a  thank  offering  is  pi'ominent  in  most  of  the  writers 
of  the  first  and  second  centuries;  but  in  the  third  centur}'^  the  later 
doctrine  of  a  sin  offering  is  found,  especially  in  the  writings  of 
Cyprian's  sac-  Cyprian,  whose  theory  of  the  priesthood  of  the  ministry 
riflciai  view,  logically  demanded  an  offering  for  the  sins  of  the  peo- 
ple. His  language  is  remarkable,  and  expresses  the  extreme  view 
of  the  age  relative  to  a  genuine  offering  of  sacrifice  made  bj'^  the 
priest.  "For  if  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord  and  God,  is  himself  the 
chief  priest  of  God  the  Father,  and  has  first  offered  himself  a  sacri- 
fice to  the  Father,  and  has  commanded  this  to  be  done  in  commem- 
oration of  himself,  certainly  that  priest  truly  discharges  the  oftice  of 

'  Ad  Smyrn.,  c.  7.  »  Ad  Ephes.,  c.  20.  ^  j^p^i^  ^  qq 

*  Advers.  Hcer.,  iv,  c.  18,  seq.  *  Const.  Apost.,  v,  c.  14;  vi,  c.  30;  vii,  c.  35. 


THE   LORD'S    SUPPER.  469 

Christ  who  imitates  that  which  Christ  did;  and  he  then  offers  a  true 
and  full  sacrifice  in  the  Church  to  God  the  Father,  when  he  pro- 
ceeds to  offer  it  according  to  what  he  sees  Christ  himself  to  have 
offered."' 

The  three  views  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  mystical,  the  sym- 
bolic, and  the  extreme  materialistic,  traces  of  each  of  which  are 
found  in  the  first  three  centuries,  were  perpetuated  in  the  post- 
Nicene  church.  Among  some  of  the  prominent  Greek  writers  there 
is  a  tendency  to  rhetorical  declamation  in  describing  opinions  vari- 
the  benefits  of  the  eucharist,  and  to  the  recognition  of  ^"^• 
some  mysterious  change  which  the  elements  undergo  in  the  act  of 
consecration,  by  virtue  of  which  the  believer  truly  partakes  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ.  It  is  difficult  to  find  those  exact  defini- 
tions which  enable  us  to  classify  these  writers  as  advocates  of  a 
mere  spiritual  participation  in  Christ's  nature,  or  of  the  classifications 
doctrine  of  the  real  presence  in  the  bread  and  wine,  or  difficult. 
of  a  veritable  change  of  substance  in  the  elements.  The  same 
writer  fluctuates  in  his  expressions,  at  one  time  seemingly  repre- 
senting the  elements  as  changed  into  the  veritable  body  and  blood 
of  Christ,^  and  at  another  as  symbols  of  his  body  and  blood.  Other 
fathers,  as  Gregory  of  Nyssa  and  Chrysostom  in  the  East,  and  Hilary 
and  Ambrose  among  the  Latins,  are  quite  pronounced  in  regard  to 
a  complete  change  of  the  elements  in  the  act  of  consecration,  and, 
therefore,  incline  to  the  later  view  of  the  Latin  Church.  Neverthe- 
less, in  these  same  writers  are  found  expressions  which,  if  studied 
in  their  isolation,  would  lead  us  to  rank  them  among  the  advocates 
of  the  mere  symbolic  relation  of  the  elements  to  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ,  and  of  a  j^urely  spiritual  communion  with  him. 
With  all  of  them  it  is  a  deep  mystery.  In  the  symbolic  The  symbolic 
school  may  be  reckoned  Basil,  Eusebius,  Gregory  Nazi-  school, 
anzen,  and  Augustine;  although  these,  too,  at  times  use  expressions 
which  favour  another  theory. 

What  is  true  of  the  teachings  of  the  great  church  fathers  is  like- 
wise  true   of   the   language   of    the   ancient   liturgies. 
Some  represent  a  veritable  change  in  the  elements  as  not  uniform  in 
occurring  in  the  act  of  consecration,  while  others  recog-    ^^^  °^' 
nise  only  the  spiritual  presence  of  Christ  in  the  supper.     The  Greek 
liturgies  are  generally  more  clear  in  the  representation  of  the  real 

1  Ep.  62  (63),  ad  CceciL  c.  14. 

^  V.  especially  Gj'ril  of  Jerusalem  as  cited  by  Neander :  Christliclie  DogmengescMchte, 
Berlin,  1857,  Bd.  i,  ss.  425,  426.  "Regard  not,  therefore,  the  bread  and  the  wine  as 
elements  simply,  for,  according  to  the  declaration  of  the  Lord,  they  are  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ." 


470         SACRA>rENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

presence  of  Christ  with  the  elements.  Generally  throughout  the 
eucharistic  portions  of  the  liturgies  there  is  the  recognition  of  an 
aAvful,  yet  glorious,  mystery.' 

From  the  ancient  canons  it  is  evident  that  full  members  of  the 
Obligations  to  Church,  or  those  who  had  passed  through  their  catechu- 
commune.  menical  discipline  and  had  been  baptized,  and  who  were 
free  from  ecclesiastical  censure,  were  under  obligation  to  partake 
of  the  eucharist.  Some  of  the  canons  are  very  explicit,  going  so 
far  as  to  declare  that  such  as  refuse  to  partake  of  the  eucharist 
ought  to  be  excluded  from  the  Church ;  ^  and  with  this  opinion  har- 
monized the  teachings  of  the  Apostolic  Constitutions,  and  of  some 
of  the  most  eminent  Christian  fathers.^  Nor  did  a  plea  of  unwor- 
thiness  excuse  from  this  solemn  duty.  The  reservation  of  some  of 
the  elements  for  the  use  of  such  as  were  not  prepared  or  willing  to 

commune,  called  euloqia,  evXoyia,  was  unknown  to  the 
Eulogia.  ,  I'      '  /      ' 

Church  of  the  first  four  centuries,  and  probably  was  not 
recognised  before  the  eighth  or  ninth  century.     Nor  was  the  medi- 
aeval and  modern  practice  of   private  mass,  where  the 
No  private  mass.         .  ,  •  i         i  i  i 

priest  alone  receives  the  elements,  known  to  the  early 

Church. 

Since  the  Church  from  the  beginning  of  the  third  century 
accounted  infants  as  proper  subjects  of  baptism,  and  regarded 
this  as  the  proper  initiatory  rite  into  the  Church  —  ratifying  the 
membership  by  the  holy  unction  and  confirmation — she  consistently 
Infant  com-  admitted  infants  to  the  Lord's  Supper.  Of  this  there  is 
munion.  abundant  proof  as  early  as  the  third  century.     Cyprian 

is  very  clear  in  his  recognition  of  the  propriety  of  infant  commun- 
ion,^ and  he  mentions  it  in  such  terms  as  to  give  the  impression  of 

*  This  subject  is  discussed  at  great  length,  with  abundant  references  lo  original  au- 
thorities, by  Kahuis:  Die  Lehre  vom  heiligen  AbendmahL,  Leipzig,  185L  Riickert: 
Das  Ahendmahl,  sein  Wesen,  und  seine  Geschichte  in  der  alten  Kirche,  Leipzig,  1S56. 
Freeman:  Princijyles  of  Divine  Service,  London,  1855-1862.  Harrison:  An  Answer 
to  Dr.  Pmey^s  Challenge  respecting  the  Doctrine  of  the  Real  Presence,  London,  1871. 
Ebrard:  Das  Dogma  vom  heiligen  Abendmahl  und  seine  Gesc/i«c/ife,  Frankfort,  1845. 
"  No  other  hypothesis  is  backed  up  by  such  a  subtle  philosophy ;  no  other  can  so 
shelter  itself  from  both  reason  and  ridicule  in  the  sanctuary  which  has  been  provided 
for  it.  .  .  .  His  (the  believer  in  transubstantiation)  Christ  in  the  sacrament  is  re- 
moved from  the  region  of  sense  to  the  region  of  the  unthinkable  and  non-existent. 
The  Roman  Catholic's  sacramental  Christ  is  the  God  of  Spinoza."  v.  Cunnmgham: 
The  Growth  of  the  Church,  pp.  242,  243. 

*  Cone.  Antioch.,  can.  2,  quoted  by  Biugliam,  vol.  ii,  p.  791.  Augusti:  Handhuch 
d.  Christ.  Archaologie,  Bd.  ii,  ss.  637,  638. 

^  For  declarations  of  such  as  were  entitled  to  commune  and  their  duty  v.  Const 
ApostoL,  lib.  viii;  for  the  obligation,  among  others,  v.  Chrysostom :  Horn,  iii,  ad  EpJies. 
■*  de  Lapsis,  c.  25. 


THE   LORD'S    SUPPER.  471 

its  commonness.  In  the  Apostolic  Constitutions,*  where  the  order 
in  which  persons  are  to  receive  the  communion  is  treated,  children 
ai*e  mentioned;  and  Augustine  in  many  passages  of  his  writings  rec- 
ognises its  practice  and  propriety.  It  was  also  custom-  Elements  sent 
ary  for  the  early  Church  to  send  the  elements  to  absent  tosickandpris- 
members,  to  bishops  and  officers  of  other  churches,  to  *'°®''^' 
the  sick  and  infirm,   and  to  captives  languishing  in  prison. 

The  Lord's  Supper  was  early  celebrated  in  private  houses;  but  in 
later  and  more  settled  periods  it  was  usually  celebrated  where  ceie- 
in  the  church.  The  people  received  into  their  hands  of  ^i^ated. 
both  kinds,  sometimes  kneeling,  sometimes  standing,  but  rarely,  if 
ever,  sitting.^  The  Constitutions  prescribe  an  order  in  which  per- 
sons shall  commune :  "  First,  let  the  bishop  receive,  then  order  of  com- 
the  presbyters,  deacons,  subdeacons,  readers,  singers,  ™uiion- 
and  ascetics;  among  the  women  the  deaconesses,  virgins,  and 
widows,  after  that  the  children,  then  all  the  people  in  order."  ^  In 
Justin  Martyr's  desci'iption ''  of  the  rite,  the  president  consecrates, 
and  the  deacons  distribute  both  elements  to  the  communicants;  but 
in  the  more  formal  order  of  government  it  is  seen  that  the  deacon 
is  forbidden  to  officiate  if  a  presbyter  be  present. 

The  practice  of  communing  in  one  kind,  except  in  case  of  urgent 
necessity,  was  unkno^vn  to  the  ancient  Church;  of  this  the  proof  is 
too  abundant  to  need  specification.  It  was  sometimes  the  case  that 
the  bread  was  mingled  with  the  wine,  and  thus  both  ele-  Bread  mingled 
ments  were  given  at  the  same  time.  Hence  the  use  of  ^'"''^  ^°^- 
eucharistic  spoons  in  the  Greek  church,  and  also  in  the  Coptic 
church  of  to-day. 

The  frequency  of  celebrating  the  supper  varied  in  different  ages 
of  the  Church.  The  apostolic  Church  at  first  had  daily  Frequency  of 
assemblies  for  observing  the  sacred  meal,  but  afterward,  celebration. 
apparently,  met  "  on  the  first  day  of  the  week"  for  its  celebration.* 
The  testimony  of  TertuUian,  Cyprian,  Eusebius,  Chrysostom,  Am- 
brose, and  others  is  to  the  same  custom  in  their  day.  But  besides 
the  Lord's  day  the  eucharist  was  celebrated  on  all  great  celebrated  on 
feasts  and  festivals,  and  in  some  churches  there  was  feast  days. 
a  return  to  its  daily  observance.     But  after  the  sixth  century  the 

>  1.  viii,  c.  13. 

'  This  was  a  much  later  practice,  originating  in  peculiar  circumstances. 

^  1.  viii,  c.  13,  as  quoted  by  Bingham,  bk.  xv,  chap.  iv. 

*  Apol.  i,  c.  65. 

*  V.  Pliny :  Epistolce,  lib.  x,  ep.  97,  in  his  celebrated  letter  to  Trajan  on  the  lives 
and  customs  of  the  Christiana  of  the  Province  of  Bithynia.  Also  Justin  Martyr: 
Apol.  i,  67. 


473         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

celebration  became  less  frequent,  until  in  some  churches  communion 
was  insisted  on  but  once  a  year. 

There  is  no  evidence  in  the  writings  or  monuments  of  the  first  six 
Noeievationof  centuries  of  the  elevation  of  the  host  or  of  its  adoration, 
the  host.  The  entire  accompaniments  of  the  eucharist  were  calcu- 

lated to  impress  the  mind  of  the  communicant  with  the  solemnity  of 
the  act,  as  well  as  with  the  high  privilege  of  the  sacrament.  The  dis- 
courses of  the  great  preachers,  as  the  Gregories,  Basil, 
magnified  by  Chrysostom,  Ambrose,  Augustine,  Hilary,  etc.,  abound 
in  most  eloquent  passages,  inculcating  the  necessity  of  a 
preparation  of  spirit  in  order  to  communicate  worthily,  and  showing 
the  immense  benefits  which  Christ  intended  to  confer  upon  the 
Church  by  the  institution  of  the  Supper. 


§  2.    The  Altar  and  its  Furniture. 

As  the  central  act  of  public  worship  was  the  eucharistic  supper, 
so  the  central  point  in  the  house  of  assembly  was  the  table  of  the 
Lord,  or  the  altar.'  Paul  calls  it  rpdne^a  kvqiov.  It  received  differ- 
ent designations  at  different  periods  and  in  different  countries.  As 
the  idea  of  a  sacrificial  offering  became  more  and  more  prominent. 
Names  and  the  terms  ara,  altare,  dvaiaarripiov,  etc.,  were  applied  to 
forms.  ^jjg  place  of  consecrating  the  elements  in  the  euchai'ist. 

The  forms  of  the  altar  varied  from  the  simple  table  (rpdne^a,  inensa) 
to  the  more  elaborate  altars  in  wood,  stone,  and  precious  metals. 
Even  in  Tertullian's  day  the  ara  is  frequently  mentioned,  and  seems 
to  have  been  of  wood.  Generally  the  term  is  qualified  by  some 
word  indicating  to  whom  the  altar  is  chiefly  dedicated,  or  whose 
relics  lie  beneath  it.  There  are  sufficient  reasons  for  believing  that 
for  the  first  two  and  a  half  centuries  the  table,  or  altar,  was  often 
portable,  and  that  in  times  of  public  agitation  or  persecution  it  was 
carried  from  place  to  place  as  prudence  might  dictate. 

After  commodious  basilicas  were  erected  and  were  under  the 
Position  of  the  protection  of  government,  the  regular  place  of  the 
altar.  ^\^^y   was   at   the   middle   of    the   chord   of    the   apse 

(w.  Fig.  82).  It  is  believed  that  in  the  fourth  century  the  altar 
began  to  assume  the  form  of  a  tomb,  from  the  practice  of 
Covering  relics  placing  beneath  it  the  relics  of  martyrs  or  saints, 
of  martyrs,  etc.  Tj^g  change  of  the  altar  from  wood  to  stone  can  be 
better  accounted  for  in  this  way  than  by  deriving  the  suggestion 
from  the  arcosolia  of  the  catacombs,  which  some  affirm  were  used 
for  altars  during  times  of  persecution,  and  from  excessive  ven- 
'  Dr.  Nikolaus  Miiller:  "Altar,"  in  Herzog  u.  Plitt,  Real  Ency.,  vol.  i.     1897. 


THE  LORD'S   SUPPER. 


473 


eration  of  the  martyred  dead.  Several  of  these  tomblike  altars, 
from  the  fifth  century,  still  survive  in  Rome,  Ravenna,  and  else- 
where; the  one  discovered  in  the  Basilica  San  Alessandro,  seven 
miles  from  Rome,  on  the  Via  JVbmentana,  and  that  of  SS.  Nazzaro 
e  Celso  in  Ravenna  are  good  examples.  From  these  well-pre- 
served altars  of  the  fifth  century,  as  well  as  from  mosaic  representa- 
tions found  in  several  churches  of  the  East  and  West,  a  good  idea 
of  their  form,  material, 
and  accessories  may  be 
gained.  Fig.  140  repre- 
sents a  table  or  altar 
from  about  the  fifth  cen- 
tury, restored  partially 
from  divers  fragments. 
It  is  sketched  as  a  large 
table  of  marble,  support- 
ed by  pillars  upon  which 
is  sculptured  a  branch  of 
the  vine  with  its  fruit. 
One  frieze  contains  sculp- 
tured doves,  which  turn  ~ 

towards    the     monoo-ram  ^'S-  ^^O.— An  altar  (mcnsa)  of  the  fifth  century. 

of   Christ;    the   other    (not   shown)    has  a  like    number   of   lambs 
turning    towards   the   mystic   Lamb   in   the   centre.     It   is   nearly 

It   gives   a 
The   altar 


Elevated  above 
the  general  lev- 
el. 

From  lit- 


The  clborium. 


six  feet  long  and  about  three  and  a  half  wide, 
good  idea  of  the  altar  in  the  form  of  the  mensa.* 
was  often  placed  upon  a  platform  raised  two  or  three 
steps  high,  beneath  which  was  a  space,  called  confessio, 
where  was  the  grave  of  the  saint,  afterward  the  depos- 
itory of  the  sarcophagus  containing  the  sacred  remains, 
erary  notices,  as  well  as  from  mosaics  yet  preserved,  it  is  plain  that 
from  the  fourth  or  fifth  century  the  altar  was  covered  by  a  canopy, 
Clborium,  supported  by  columns,  between  which  stretched 
rods  bearing  the  veils,  or  curtains,  which  hid  the  sacred 
elements  from  the  vulgar  gaze.  The  ciboria  were  often  of  great 
costliness,  wrought  out  in  elaborate  patterns,  and  formed  a  most 
striking  part  of  the  furniture  of  the  sanctuary  (/3^//a,  sa?ictuarium) . 
The  custom  of  multiplying  altars  along  the  sides  of  the  church  is  of 
later  origin. 

The  chalice   (calix)  was  at  first  but  one  of  the  ordinary  drink- 
ing vessels  used  at  the  social   feasts.     By  degrees,  as  the  public 
worship   became   more   regular  and  orderly,  as  the   congregations 
'  V.  Roller :  Catacombes  de  Rome,  torn,  ii,  p.  90,  pi.  Ixiii. 


474        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

had  their  stated  places  of  assembly,  and  the  societies  cared  for  the 
The  chalice  and  furniture  of  the  churches,  the  chalice  for  the  wine  and 
paten.  ^he  paten  for  the  consecrated  bread  were  doubtless  of 

regular  pattern,  and  often  of  appropriate  decoration.  To  what  ex- 
tent the  forms  met  upon  sarcof)hagi,  on  slabs  of  marble,  or 
in  mosaics,  are  representations  of  the  chalice  and  paten  it 
is  difficult  to  say.  From  their  age  and  their  connection  with  in- 
scriptions, a  few  may,  without  violence  to  any  laws  of  sound  inter- 
j)retation,  be  regarded  as  forms  of  sacramental  vessels.  Such 
evidence  must,  however,  be  received  with  caution,  since  some  of 
these  forms  are  plainly  for  purposes  of  ornament.  The  number 
of  chalices  and  patens  still  surviving  from  the  first  six  centuries 
Earliest  exam-  is  very  small.  Probably  the  earliest  are  those  found 
Pi^^-  at  Gourdon,  in  France,  now   preserved  in  the  Royal 

Library  of  Paris.  They  are  of  gold,  ornamented  with  scales 
of  garnet,  and  beautifully  chased.  From  the  fact  that  they  were 
found  in  connection  with  gold  coins  of  the  time  of  Justin  I.,  they 
are  believed  to  be  as  early  as  the  sixth  century.  From  the  descrip- 
tions of  Paul  Silentarius  we  can  safely  infer  that  the  vessels  which 
Rich  altar  fur-  decorated  the  altars  in  St.  Sophia  must  have  been  of 
niture.  wonderful  richness  and  beaut}^     Numerous  notices  of 

other  Christian  writers  of  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  centuries 
clearly  indicate  that  the  altar  furniture  was  carefully  studied  and 
was  often  of  most  costly  material. 

Likewise  the  accounts  of  the  pillage  of  churches  in  the  times  of 
persecution,  or  during  popular  uprisings,  clearly  prove  that  the 
churches  were  in  possession  of  many  valuable  rolls  of  the  sacred 
Eusebius's  tes-  Scriptures,  as  well  as  manuscript  liturgies  and  hymns, 
timony.  Eusebius  assures  us  that  he  has  seen  with  his  OAvn  eyes 

the  sacred  Scriptures  committed  to  the  flames  upon  the  market-places, 
and  the  houses  of  worship  thrown  down  from  their  foundations; ' 
and  Optatus  speaks  of  the  Donatists  burning  the  altars  of  their 
rivals,  and  destroying  the  beautiful  altar  vessels  of  gold,  or  melting 
them  down  and  selling  them  as  profane.**    After  the  recognition  of 

Christianity  as  the  religion  of  the  empire,  the  imperial 
Imperial  gifts.        .  "^  °  „.,„. 

girts,  not  only  of  churches,  but  of  richest  furniture,  were 

frequent,  and  added  immensely  to  the  impressiveness  of  the  public 

'  Hist.  Eccles.,  1.  viii,  c.  2.  v.  Lactantius's  account  {de  Mort.  Persee,  c.  12)  of  the 
burning  of  the  splendid  church  at  Nicomedia  with  the  volumes  of  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures. 

'  The  edict  of  Diocletian  contemplated  the  destruction  of  the  sacred  vessels  and 
books  as  well  as  the  churches.  The  guardians  of  the  churches  frequently  refused  to 
produce  the  books  or  reveal  their  place  of  concealment. 


THE   LORD'S  SUPPER.  475 

worship.'  The  growing  splendour  of  church  decoration  and  furni- 
ture is  sometimes  rebuked  by  the  bishops  as  robbery  of  protest  against 
widows  and  orphans,"  and  is  contrasted  with  the  sim-  ^^^  luxury, 
plicity  of  the  first  and  second  centuries,  when  the  warm  glow  of 
brotherly  love  was  prevalent,  and  when  the  body  of  the  Lord  could 
be  borne  in  a  basket  of  wicker  work,  and  his  blood  in  a  vessel  of 
glass." 

'  Justinian's  intolerant  zeal,  In  building  ninety-six  churches  for  the  yielding  Greeks 
of  Asia  Minor,  and  supplying  them  with  linen  vestments,  Bibles,  liturgies,  and  vases 
of  gold  and  silver,  may  be  quoted  as  an  example. 

^  Chrysostom  :  Ho7n.  50  in  Matt. 

SHieron.:  Ep.  125. 
31 


476         SACRAAIENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EARLY    CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 
§  1.  The  Apostolic  Age. 

The  worship  of  the  apostolic  Church  was  simple,  and  without 
liturgical  charactei".  True,  Christ  left  a  form  of  prayer  which, 
by  its  spirit  and  comprehensiveness,  was  to  remain  a  model  for 
the  Church  in  all  the  future.  So  also  in  the  New  Testament, 
from  time  to  time,  recur  formulas  which  were  probably  the  germs 
Suggestions  of  ^f  the  Stately  liturgies  so  widely  accejited  during  the 
a  liturgy.  following   centuries.      Doubtless   in   this,   as   in  other 

respects,  the  influence  of  the  Jewish  temple  and  synagogue 
service  was  powerful  and  lasting.  Prior  to  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  it  is  evident  that  the  distinction  between  Christian  and 
Jew  was  not  sharply  made,  and  many  of  the  Jewish  converts 
Jewish  influ-  continued  to  attend  upon  a  worship  which  had  be- 
ences.  come  venerable  from  age,  and  impressive  by  its  stately 

ceremonial.  Moreover,  the  doxology  and  the  psalmody  of  the 
Old  Testament  Scriptures  were  accepted  and  incorporated  into 
the  worship  of  the  new  religion,  and  they  were  found  to  be 
consonant  with  that  spirit  of  universalism  which  characterized  the 
teachings  of  Christ  and  of  his  first  apostles.'  In  accordance  with 
the  precepts  and  example  of  its  Master,  the  early  Church  was  ac- 
spirit  of  the  Customed  to  offer  prayer  for  all  men,  even  for  enemies, 
early  Church,  and  in  this  respect  it  was  distinguished  sharply  from 
the  practice  of  Judaism  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  spirit  of  heathen- 
ism on  the  other.  The  bigoted  exclusiveness  of  some  Jewish  sects, 
Contrasted  and  the  narrower  limitations  occasioned  by  nationality, 
S?  bSS  b""*^'  etc.,  recognised  by  the  heathen  world,  could  not 
ism.  harmonize  with  the   truth  which  had   been  communi- 

cated to  Peter  through  a  special  divine  manifestation  (Acts  x, 
34,  35). 

Associated  with  the  prayers,  often  mentioned  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  and  elsewhere,  is  found  the  recommendation  to  "  speak  in 
psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  singing  and  making  melody 
in  your  heart  to  the  Lord  "  (Eph.  v,  19);  "  teaching  and  admonish- 

'  August! :  Handbuch  der  ch.  ArchoRologie,  Bd.  ii,  s.  1- 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP.  477 

ing  one  another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs  [^paXnolq, 

vfivoig,  i^dalg  TcvevnaTiKalg),  singing  with  grace  in  your  hearts  to  the 

Lord"  (Col.  iii,  17).     Another  part  of  the  worship  con-   ^^^.^^  ^j  ^^j.. 

sisted  in  the  reading  and  expounding  of  the  Scriptures  ship  in  apos- 
/  *  •    ,  _  ••    ,  1       •       ««      .     J  \      TA      1  ^1         •     ^1  •      tolic  Church. 

(Acts  1,  15,  seq.;  u,  14  ;  iv,  33,  et  al.).   Doubtless  m  this 

there  was  a  close  imitation  of  the  form  of  the  Jewish  worship, 
for  it  is  inconceivable  that  men  who  had  all  their  lives  been  accus- 
tomed to  the  free  and  stimulating  services  of  the  synagogue  should 
suddenly  sunder  themselves  from  these  associations,  and  devise  an 
entirely  new  order  of  worship. 

The  first  JeM'ish  converts,  accustomed  as  they  had  been  to  hear  the 
law  read  and  expounded  by  some  priest  or  reader,  and  to  listen  to  the 
impressive  utterances  of  the  Prophets  and  of  the  Psalms  Jewish  con- 
in  their  frequent  gatherings,  cherished  more  fully  the   verts  loved  the 

1  &  &  '  _         -J  synagogue 

grand  and  solemn  lessons  of  their  sacred  writings  as  service. 
they  now  saw  their  fulfillment  and  culmination  in  the  Messias  whose 
kingdom  they  were  labouring  to  establish.  Doubtless  the  prev- 
alent custom  among  the  Jews,  to  invite  any  well-informed  man  to 
explain  the  Scripture  lesson,  was  entirely  consonant  with  the  feel- 
ings of  the  early  disciples,  when  the  right  to  teach  was  not  of  ofiicial 
sanction,  but  of  spiritual  endowments,  or  of  a  special  charism,  xaqtaiia 
SidaonaXiKov.  The  custom  of  Paul  on  his  missionary  tours  also  illus- 
trates the  easy  and  natural  connection  of  the  early  converts  with 

their  former  reliction,  as  it  was  celebrated  in  the  syna-  „    „       ^^  ^ 
^        '  _  "^  Paul's  method 

gogues  of  the  dispersion.     His  method  was  to  attach   of  evangeiiza- 
himself  to  the  Jewish  synagogue,  and,  in  a  spirit  of 
generous  universalism,  use  the  existing  forms  to  convey  the  higher 
lesson  of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ. 

The  question  of  the  composition  of  the  churches  founded  by  Paul 
still  remains  an  open  one,  especially  whether  the  Jewish  or  the  heathen 
element  at  first  preponderated.  Doubtless  in  nearly  every  case 
there  was  a  mixture  of  converts  from  both.  Inasmuch  as  the 
theism  of  the  Jews  was  the  substantial  foundation  on  composition  of 
which  the  Christian  system  must  be  reared,  their  forms   ^'^^     '^I^^^J^^^^ 

•J     _  _  '  founded   by 

had,  presumably,  large  influence  in  all  the   churches  es-   Paul, 
tablished  by  Paul  and  his  co-workers  during  their  wide  missionary 
journeyings,  and  the  simple  synagogue  worship  probably  had  very 
considerable  effect  upon  most  of  these  churches  for  a  century  after 
the  death  of  the  apostles.'     If  these  are  to  be  regarded  as,  in  a 

'  "With  respect  to  the  composition  of  the  Church  at  Rome,  Baur  and  Schwegler,  as 
well  as  Thiersch  and  others  not  of  the  Tiibingen  school,  have  sought  to  prove  the 
preponderance  of  Jewish  influence.  But  many  others,  as  Neander,  Schaff,  Lange, 
have  controverted  this  claim. 


478         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

measure,  colonies  of  the  mother  church  at  Antioch/  then  must  the 

preponderating  influence  of  the  heathen  element  be  pre- 
Preponderance    ^^-,,,°  ,  ..  i-i-i^ir 

of  heathen  con-  sumed.     Moreover,    the   opposition    which   Faul   often 

verts  in  some,  encountered  from  the  Jews,  compelling  him  to  leave  the 
synagogue,  and  establish  an  independent  society  (Acts  xiii,  45,  seq.; 
xviii,  5-7  ;  xix,  8,  seq.),  would  suggest  a  larger  number  of  Gentile 
converts  in  the  churches  of  Antioch  of  Pisidia,  of  Corinth,  and 
of  Ephesus,  just  as  the  history  would  lead  us  to  suppose  that  in 
the  church  at  Berea  the  majority  of  converts  were  sincere  Jews, 
Of  Jewish  in  ^ho  had  diligently  searched  their  Scriptures  to  discover 
others.  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise  of  the  Messiah.    While  the 

records  of  the  first  century  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  re- 
specting the  forms  of  Christian  worship  are  exceedingly  meager,  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  the  character  of  the  services  of  the  churches 
Character  of  would  be  somewhat  affected  as  the  majority  of  the 
the  public  wor-  members  were  of  Jewish  or  Gentile  origin  ;  in  the  former 
ship  affected  by  ^      ,_•         ^^        <•  <•    -i  j    • 

the    character  casc  perpetuating  the  forms  of  the  synagogue,  and  in 

of  the  church,  ^he  latter  modified  by  the  peculiar  thought  of  the 
heathen  converts. 

A  more  distinctive  service  might  be  supposed  to  be  developed  in 

the  latter  societies,  since  the  liberty  of  the  Gospel  would  experience 

.     little  hinderance  from  former  customs,  and  be  imtram- 

TnG  s6rviCGs  in 

churches  of  meled  by  a  venerable  ritual.  Yet  we  are  checked  from 
heathen  origin  jy^ajj^jngr  too  hastv  inferences,  since  the  letters  of  Paul 

developed  more  o  ■'    _  ... 

distinctive  to  the  churches  which  are  most  distinctively  of  Gentile 
°'^'°^'  converts  abound  in  references  to  the  Old  Testament 

Scriptures,  and  some  of  the  elements  of  the  worship  to  which  refer- 
ence is  therein  made  clearly  point  to  a  Jewish  origin.  Nevertheless, 
there  is  evidence  that  in  some  of  the  churches  the  letters  of  the 
apostles  were  read  in  the  assemblies,  and  constituted  a  part  of 
their  service  for  edification  and  instruction  (1  Thess.  v,  27  ;  Col. 
Paul's  letters  iv,  16).  By  degrees  these  letters,  with  other  New  Testa- 
Genuiechurch^  "^^^^  documents.  Came  to  be  regarded  as  of  equal  and 
es.  even  superior  importance  to  the  Old  Testament,  and 

their  authoritative  character  was  recognised  earlier  by  the  churches 
of  Gentile  than  by  those  of  Jewish  character.'' 

When  all  the  circumstances  are  considered,  we  cannot  speak 
of  a  contradiction  between  the  spirit  and  worship  of  Jewish 
and  Gentile  societies,  but  rather  of  a  variety  in  unity.  The 
Yet  no  real  unity  consisted  partly  in  their  communion  with  God 
contradiction,  in  Christ,  on  the  basis  of  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles, 
which  was  by  both  considered  the  reason  and  end  of  divine  wor- 
^  V.  Lechler:    Op.  cit,  s.  110.  '  v.  Lechler:    Op.  cit,  s.  120. 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP.  479 

ship ;  partly  in  the  fraternal  association  of  believers  with  one 
another,  which  was  stimulated  and  promoted  by  their  religious 
services.  Furthermore,  both  parties  had  their  smaller  and  more 
exclusive  society  gatherings,  as  well  as  their  more  public  assemblies 
to  which  the  non-Christian  public  had  access.  The  difference  be- 
tween the  Jewish-Christian  and  Gentile-Christian  churches  in  its 
real  essence  consisted  in  the  fact  that  with  those  societies  which 
were  formed  out  of  the  converted  in  heathen  countries,  their  wor- 
ship by  virtue  of  their  entire  isolation  from  the  Jewish   „ 

,  ^  .  Greater    mde- 

temple  and   synagogue  service,   was  more  freely  and  pendence 

independently  developed  by  the  pure  spirit  of  the  Gos-  heathen^  con- 
pel,  while  in  Palestine  the  connection  with  the  Old  ^®''''^- 
Testament  ritual  was  more  persistent  and  protracted.  In  fine,  the 
worship  of  the  Gentile-Christian  churches  shares  in  the  liberty,  inde- 
pendence, and  novelty  of  Christianity,  but  in  such  manner  that  this 
independence  of  the  New  neither  excludes  a  leaning  toward  the 
forms  of  the  Old  Testament  worship,  nor  does  its  freedom  ignore  a 
law  of  orderly  arrangement  which  is  developed  from  within.' 

§  2.    Worship  in  the  Time  of  the  Apostolic  Fathers. 

It  is  quite  remarkable  that  the  apostolic  fathers  give  us  very 
few  hints  relative  to  the  nature  and  order  of  public  worship. 
Scarcely  a  paragraph  is  met  in  Clement,  Polycarp,  Hernias,  or  Bar- 
nabas. The  archaic  document,  "  The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve,"  if 
it  can  be  firmly  placed  near  the  end  of  the  first  or  at  ^1,^  "xeach- 
the  beginning  of  the  second  century,  becomes  valuable  *"»•" 
as  giving  statements  relative  to  the  manner  of  celebrating  the  sacra- 
ments of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  (y,  book  iii,  chaps.  1,  2),  as 
well  as  the  character  of  the  assemblies  upon  the  Lord's  day.  We 
are  impressed  by  the  simplicity  of  the  service,  and  by  its  almost 
absolute  lack  of  ritualistic  forms.  The  command  to  meet  together 
is  coupled  with  a  description  of  the  spirit  which  should  be  cherished 
by  the  participants,  being  largely  a  repetition  of  the  injunction  of 
Christ^  (Matt,  v,  23,  24).  Frequent  assembly  is  earnestly  enjoined 
— "  But  ye  shall  come  together  often,  and  seek  the  things  which 
befit  your  souls;  for  the  whole  time  of  your  faith  thus  far  will  not 
profit  you,  if  you  do  not  become  perfect  in  the  last  time."  ^ 

The  references  to   public  worship  in  the  Ignatian  writings  are 

'  Lechler:  Op.  cit.,  ss.  120,  121. 

*  Aidaxri  tuv  ATroaroTiUv,  chap,  xiv,  "But  on  the  Lord's  day  do  ye  assemble  and 
break  bread,  and  give  thanks,"  etc. 
^  Id.,  chap.  xvi. 


480         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

very  few,  and  furnish  little  aid  in  constructing  the  form  of  public 
Notices  In  ig-  Service  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  second  century.  The 
natius.  duty  of  frequent  meetings  is  inculcated:  "Take  heed, 

then,  often  to  come  together  to  give  thanks  to  God,  and  show  forth 
his  praise.  For  when  ye  assemble  frequently  in  the  same  place, 
the  powers  of  Satan  are  destroyed,  and  the  destruction  at  which  he 
aims  is  prevented  by  the  unity  of  your  faith,"  '  He  agrees  with 
the  "  Teaching  "  respecting  the  propriety  and  custom  of  observing 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  rather  than  the  Jewish  Sabbath;  "no 
longer  observing  the  Sabbath,  but  living  in  the  observance  of  the 
Lord's  day,  on  which  also  our  life  has  sprung  up  again  by  him  and 
by  his  death,"  *  etc. 

The  few  heathen  notices  of  the  worshijj  of  the  Christians  in  the 
first  half  of  the  second  century  are  important  in  themselves,  and  in- 
structive respecting  the  simplicity  of  services  which  continued  in 
the  Church  after  the  death  of  the  apostles.  The  testimony  is  also 
important  as  coming  from  enemies.  In  his  well  known  letter  to 
Heathen  testi  Trajan,  about  A.  D.  102,  Pliny  desci'ibes  the  sim- 
mony.  plicity  of  the  worship,  and  bears  witness  to  the  high 

moral  chai-acter  of  the  Christian  fellowship.  "They  are  accus- 
tomed to  assemble  before  dawii  on  a  certain  day,  and  sing  re- 
sponsively  a  hymn  to  Christ  as  God,"  '  etc.  The  celebration  of 
the  sacred  meal,  and  the  pledge  to  abstain  from  all  wickedness 
while  absent  from  each  other,  are  likewise  attested.  Lucian,  the 
universal  scoffer,  saw  in  Christianity  only  one  of  the  numberless 
follies  of  his  time.  His  mocking  spirit,  while  contemning  all  re- 
ligions, sobers  into  candor  by  acknowledging  the  benevolence  of 
the  Christians,  and  he  testifies  to  the  power  of  their  belief  in  immor- 
tality to  keep  them  steadfast,  and  cause  them  to  abound  in  all 
helpfulness  and  kindness.^  He  likewise  speaks  of  their  worship  of 
Christ,  of  the  reading  of  their  sacred  writings,  and  the  celebration 
of  the  sacred  meal. 

§  3.  PiMic   Worship  in  the  Second  and  Third  Centuries. 

It  is  not  till  the  middle  of  the  second  century  that  we  meet  with 
a  somewhat  formal  and  complete  description  of  Christian  public 
justinMartyr's  worship.  Justin  Martyr,  in  his  first  Apology  to  the  em- 
account,  peror,  senate,  etc.,  says:  "On  the  day  called  Sunday  (^ 
rov   'YiXiov  Xeyo^evT]  'qfiepa)  all  who  live  in  cities  or  in  the  country 

'  Ad  Ephes.,  c.  xiii ;  v.  also  ad  Magnes.,  c.  vii;  ad  Polyc,  c.  iv. 
"  AdMagnes.,  c.  9.  3  Epistolce,  1.  x,  ep.  96. 

*  de  Peregrino,  11-13.  v.  Friedlander:  Sittengeschiehte  Boms,  Bd.  iii,  589-590. 
Uhlhorn :   Conflict  of  Christianity  with  Heathenism,  pp.  325,  326. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP.  481 

gather  together  to  one  place,  and  the  memoirs  of  the  apostles  or 
the  writings  of  the  prophets  are  read  as  long  as  time  permits;  then, 
when  the  reader  has  ceased,  the  president  verbally  instructs,  and 
exhorts  to  the  imitation  of  these  good  things.  Then  we  all  rise  to- 
gether and  pray,  and  as  we  before  said,  when  our  prayers  are  ended, 
bread  and  wine  and  water  are  brought,  and  the  president  in  like 
manner  offers  prayers  and  thanksgivings,  according  to  his  ability, 
and  the  people  assent,  saying,  Ameuj  and  there  is  distribution  to 
each,  and  a  participation  in  that  over  which  thanks  have  order  of  ser- 
been  given,  and  to  those  who  are  absent  a  portion  is  ^''^'^• 
sent  by  the  deacons.  And  they  who  are  well  to  do,  and  willing, 
give  what  each  thinks  fit;  and  what  is  collected  is  deposited  with 
the  president,  who  succors  the  orphans  and  the  widows,  and  those  who, 
through  sickness  or  any  other  cause,  are  in  want,  and  those  who  are 
in  bonds,  and  the  strangers  sojourning  among  us,  and,  in  a  word, 
takes  care  of  all  who  are  in  need.  But  Sunday  is  the  day  on  which 
we  all  hold  our  common  assembly,  because  it  is  the  first  day  on 
which  God,  having  wrought  a  change  in  the  darkness  and  matter, 
made  the  world;  and  Jesus  Christ  on  the  same  day  rose  from  the 
dead."  ' 

In  this  brief  passage  a  very  lively  sketch  of  the  form  and  spirit 
of  Christian  worship  in  the  middle  of  the  second  century  is  given. 
1.)  The  day  on  which  the  assembly  gathers  and  the  summary 
reason  of  selecting  this  day.  It  is  Sunday,  and  not  statements. 
the  Jewish  Sabbath;  it  is  because  on  that  day  God  finished  his  crea- 
tion, and  Jesus  Christ  rose  from  the  dead.  2.)  The  gathering  is 
from  city  and  adjacent  country  into  one  place;  the  place  is  not 
characterized;  but  it  is  a  society  under  president  and  helpers. 
3.)  The  order  of  the  service  is  like  that  in  apostolic  times,  with 
the  exception  of  singing,  which  is  not  here  mentioned.  The 
lector  reads  selections  from  the  Gospels,^  and  from  the  pro- 
phetic Scriptures;  next  the  president  expounds  and  exhorts 
to  an  imitation  of  the  examples  furnished  in  the  sacred  lessons. 
Then  follows  prayer,  led  by  the  president,  during  which  all  stand; 
next  the  consecration  of  the  elements  for  the  Lord's  Supper,  their 
distribution  by  the  deacons,^  a  participation  in  both  kinds  by  all 
who  are  present,  and  the  care  for  those  who  are  absent,  by  the 
deacons.  After  the  communion  is  the  collection  for  the  poor  and 
needy,  which  is  deposited  with  the  president  for  disbursement  to 

^  Apol.  i,  c.  67. 

*  Apol.  i,  c.  66,  "  For  the  apostles,  in  the  memoirs  composed  by  them,  which  are 
called  Gospels,"  etc. 
3  V.  c.  65. 


482         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

all  who  may  be  in  want,  or  in  bonds,  as  well  as  to  the  stranger 
sojourning  among  the  brethren.  From  this  account  by  Justin  it 
might  be  fairly  inferred  that  there  existed  a  regular  and  recognised 
order  of  worship,  and  to  proper  officers,  president,  lector,  and  dea- 
cons, specific  duties  were  now  assigned.  Here  is  noticed  a  regular 
and  orderly  procedure  in  the  service,  but  it  is  still  characterized  by 
earnestness  and  simplicity,  no  intimation  of  an  involved  liturgy 
appearing,  except  possibly  in  the  response  of  the  people.' 

Other  writers  of  the  second  century  add  very  little  to  our  knowl- 
edge of  public  worship.  Origen,  Irenoeus,  and  Tertullian  in  their 
quite  extensive  writings  dwell  but  slightly  upon  this  subject.  In 
his  reply  to  Celsus,  Origen  uses  a  few  expressions  which  indicate 
a  fixed  order  of  service  in  the  churches  of  Alexandria,  but  it  is  not 
easy  to  construct  from  these  the  complete  form  of  worship.  Ter- 
Tertuiiiaa's  tullian's  account  of  the  services  in  the  North  African 
statemeDi.  church  agrees  quite  closely  with  the  statement  of  Justin 
Martyr.  He  adds  a  few  particulars,  as,  "  We  also  give  admonitions, 
institute  examinations,  and  administer  the  divine  censure."  From 
the  last  expression  we  are  to  infer  that  the  discipline  of  the  Church 
was  also  considered  in  the  public  assemblies.  He  also  informs  us 
that  in  prayer  they  turned  toward  the  east ;  *  that  they  lifted  their 
hands  to  God  the  Father;^  and  that  in  the  missa  Jideliuni  the  Lord's 
Prayer  was  used,  and  the  kiss  of  peace  was  given.* 

When  the  sacerdotal  principle  was  greatly  strengthened,  during 
the  first  half  of  the  third  century,  the  public  services 
formal  in  third  assumed  a  more  fixed  and  ceremonial  character.  The 
cen  ury.  sharp  distinction  between  laity  and  clergy  brought  cor- 

responding changes  in  the  conduct  of  worship.  From  this  time  the 
ministering  priest  appears  more  prominently  in  both  the  missa 
catechumenorum  and  in  the  inissa  fidelium.  The  bishop  or  presby- 
ter is  the  offerer  in  the  eucharist,  "who  offers  the  sacrifices  to  God." 
The  sacrifice  is  now  celebrated  daily;  the  lessons  are  read  from  a 
pulpitum.  It  is  evident  that  there  is  a  kind  of  responsive  service, 
for  the  Sursum  Corda  and  the  Hahemus  ad  Dominutn  are  ex- 
cyprian's  pressly  mentioned  in  Cyprian's  treatise  on  the  Lord's 

words.  Prayer.*    Also  he  speaks  of  the  attitude  in  prayer  as 

standing:   "  Moreover,  when  we  stand  praying,  beloved   brethren, 

'  NotwithstandiDg  Justin's  Apology  is  addressed  to  the  emperor,  who  might  be 
supposed  to  be  more  interested  in  affairs  pertaining  to  his  capital,  it  is  beheved  that 
lie  describes  the  order  of  worship  which  was  extant  in  the  patriarchate  of  Antioch, 
within  which  he  resided. 

2  Apol,  c.  16.  ^Idolat,  c.  vii.  •*de  Oratione,  c.  14. 

*  de  Oratione  dominica,  c.  31. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP.  483 

we  ought  to  be  watchful  and  earnest  with  our  whole  heart,  intent 
on  our  prayers."  * 

The  character  of  public  worship  in  the  African  churches  during 
the  fourth  century  can  be  pretty  well  ascertained  from  Augustine's 
the  writings  of  Augustine.  The  following  is  the  order  ^is|i'^"^uch^m- 
as  therein  revealed.  The  Scripture  reading  was  from  formation. 
the  prophets,  epistles,  and  gospels — a  psalm  being  sung  between  the 
epistle  and  gospel  lesson.  We  infer  that  the  address  or  sermon 
made  to  the  people  was  early  in  the  public  service.  In  the  niissa 
fidelium  the  worship  began  with  the  Sursum  Corda  ("Lift  up 
your  hearts  ")  and  the  Habenms  ad  Dotninum  ("  We  lift  them  up 
nnto  the  Lord").  The  first  priest  then  responded,  "Let  us  give 
thanks  to  our  Lord  God,"  and  the  people  said,  "  It  is  meet  and  right 
so  to  do,"  The  prayer  of  consecration  of  the  elements  (sanctification) 
is  made  only  by  the  priest;  since,  from  the  language  of  Augustine, 
this  is  regarded  as  of  the  nature  of  a  sacrifice.  After  the  consecra- 
tion, the  Lord's  Prayer  was  repeated  by  the  clergy  only.  Then  the 
Pax  vohiscum  ("Peace  be  with  you"),  and  the  kiss  of  peace.  Next 
followed  the  communion  and  the  dismissal  by  the  benediction,  which 
Augustine  mentions  in  his  private  letters.  In  these  letters  is  found 
also  the  statement  that  in  the  public  service  prayers  were  offered 
for  the  conversion  of  unbelievers,  for  the  catechumens,  that  they 
might  be  earnest  in  the  preparation  for  baptism,  for  scope  of  the 
all  believers,  for  bishops  and  priests,  for  all  rulers,  for  invocation. 
the  suffei-ing  and  persecuted,  for  absent  members  of  the  congre- 
gation, and  for  enemies.^ 

The  notices  contained  in  the  writings  of  the  first  three  and  a  half 
centui-ies  represent  the  Lord's  Supper  as  the  central  act  of  public 
worship,  around  which  revolves  every  minor  part,  and  which  gave 
significance  to  the  whole.  The  celebrating  of  this  sacrament  is  the 
supreme  object  of  all  public  assemblies  of  the  saints. 

'  de  Oratione  dominica,  c.  31. 

^  V,  Mone :  Lateinische  und  griechische  Messen  aris  dem  2ten  bis  6ten  Jahrhundert, 
Frankfort,  1850. 


484         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE     EARLIEST    LITURGIES. 

§  1.  Origin. 

The  almost  unbroken  peace  which  the  Church  had  enjoyed  between 
the  reigns  of  Marcus  Aurelius  and  Decius  had  added  greatly  to  the 
number  of  her  adherents,  but  had  brought  serious  moral  enervation 
even  upon  some  of  her  high  officials.  Freedom  from  opposition,  and  a 
strong  reaction  against  the  rigors  of  the  Montanistic  discipline,  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  lapse  of  a  majority  of  North  African  Christians 
during  the  terrible  persecution  under  Decius  and  his  successors.'  The 
,    most  marked  symptom  and  proof  of  a  decaying  piety 

Occa,siODs    of  *>      *.  x  •/ox»/ 

the  growth  of  Were  the  relegation  of  personal  duties  to  a  class  of  church 
liturgies.  officials,  and  a  growing  formalism  in  public  worship. 

It  was  during  this  interval  of  peace  that  the  sacerdotal  notion  had 
greatly  strengthened,  and  the  influence  of  the  laity  had  correspond- 
ingly declined. 

The  forty  years  between  the  death  of  Valerian  and  the  Diocletian 
persecution  were  most  important  for  the  discipline,  doctrine,  and 
worship  of  the  Church.  The  readmission  of  the  lapsed,  after  the 
Decian  persecution,  had  originated  the  sacrament  of  penance,  which 
Penitential  became  SO  powerful  a  factor  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Latin 
system.  Church.*     The  more  lenient  treatment  of  those  who  had 

denied  Christ  under  Valerian  tended  to  the  relaxation  of  ecclesias- 
tical discipline,  and  the  general  freedom  from  legal  disabilities  gave 
opportunity  for  the  erection  of  spacious  churches,  where  worship 
was  conducted  with  ever-increasing  pomp.  Just  then, when  piety  was 
feeble  and  heresy  was  rank,  the  Church  felt  the  necessity  of  guard- 
ing its  orthodoxy  by  the  clearer  formulation  of  doctrine,  and  fixing 
the  order  of  its  worship  by  the  construction  of  stately  liturgies. 

It  was  probably  under  these  circumstances  that  the  great  litur 
gies  ^  were  rapidly  developed.     From  the  liturgical  germs  found  in 

'  Aube  :  L'Eglise  et  I'Etat  dans  la  seconde Moitie  du  III'  Siede,  4  vols.,  Paris,  1876- 
1885,  vol.  iv,  pp.  'I0,seq. 

'^  V.  Aube :  Op.  cit.,  vol.  iv,  pp.  30,  seq.  Lecky :  History  of  European  Morals, 
London,  1884,  vol.  i,  pp.  457,  seq. 

'  The  term  liturgy,  TieiTovpyia,  has  come  to  mean  the  order  and  method  of  public 
worship;  more  especially  the  manner  of  celebrating  the  eucharist.     The  term  mass 


THE   EARLIEST   LITURGIES.  485 

the  New  Testament,  and  in  the  writings  of  the  ante-Nicene  fathers, 

were  steadily  perfected  the  imposing  forms  whose  long-continued 

use  gave  character  to  the  public  worship  of  the  East  and  West. 

They   have    undergone    numerous   important    changes,     „ 

•^     .  °     .  .  Hare    under- 

according  to  the  varying  fortunes  and  doctrinal  devel-    gone      great 

opments  of  the  Church,  or  as  they  have  been  amended 
by  conciliary  decisions.  None  are  probably  older  than  the  fourth 
century;  since  till  the  Church  was  relieved  of  its  legal  disabilities, 
and  placed  under  state  protection,  the  celebration  of  the  eucharist, 
especially,  belonged  to  the  Dlsciplitia  arcani.  The  period  for  the 
full  development  of  the  great  liturgies  begins,  therefore,  with  the 
complete  triumph  of  Christianity  over  heathenism.  This  is  evident 
from  their  frequent  use  of  terms  which  originated  in  the  General 
Councils,  where  fundamental  doctrines  were  first  formulated.  Nev- 
ertheless, they  have  certain  striking  resemblances  which  suggest  a 
common  underlying  tradition,  and  marked  differences  that  could 
result  only  from  diverse  environments. 


§  2.   Classification  and  Description. 

The  classification  of  the  early  liturgies  according  to  their  origin, 
points  of  likeness,  and  influence  has  been  attempted  by  several 
learned  liturgists; '  but  the  results  are  by  no  means  harmonious. 

Neale  arranges  them  under  five  classes,  namely:  1.  That  of  St. 
James,  or  of  Jerusalem.  2.  That  of  St.  Mark,  or  of  Neaie's  ciassi- 
Alexandria.  3.  That  of  Thaddoeus,  or  of  Edessa.  4.  That  Qcation. 
of  St.  Peter,  or  of  Rome.  5.  That  of  St.  John,  or  of  Ephesus. 
While  tradition  ascribes  the  origin  of  each  of  these  to  the  person 
whose  name  it  bears,  it  is  evident  that  they  were  the  result  of  long- 
repeated  services  at  the  great  centers  of  ecclesiastical  power,  were 
modified  with  the  shifting  fortunes  of  the  Church,  and  were  in  use 
in  different  districts  as  the  influence  of  the  patriarchal  capitals 
was  augmented  or  declined.     Moreover,  the  growth  of  a  multitude 

is  applied  to  the  public  eucharistic  service  by  the  Latin  Church.  The  liturgical 
books  were  generally  called  by  the  heathen  libelli,  by  the  Church  sacramentaria,  libri 
mysteriorum,  etc. 

'  The  following  are  among  the  most  learned  writers  upon  the  liturgies  of  the 
Church:  L.  A.  Muratori  (R.  C):  Liturgia  Romana  vetus,  2  vols.,  Venet.,  1748.  Palm- 
er (Anglican):  Origines  Liturgicce,  2  vols.,  London,  1845.  Daniel  (Lutheran): 
Codex  Uturgicus  ecdesice  universce  in  epitomen  redactus,  4  vols.,  Lipsige,  184'7-1851. 
Mone  (R.  C.) :  Lateinische  und  grieschische  Messen  aus  dem  2ien  bis  6few  Jahrhundert, 
Frankfort,  1850.  Neale  (Anglican):  The  Liturgies  of  S.  Mark,  S.  James,  S.  Clement, 
S.  C  hrysostom,  S.  Basil,  or  according  to  the  uses  of  the  churches  of  Alexandria,  Jerusa- 
lem, Constantinople,  London,  1859. 


486         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

of  lesser  liturgies  from  these  argues  a  great  variety  of  opinion,  and 
a  large  degree  of  liberty  in  the  different  districts  and  churches. 

The  Eastern  liturgies  are  divided  into  two  parts:  1.  That  pre- 
ceding, and,  2.  That  following  the  tSursum  Corda.  They  generally 
go  under  the  names  of  the  promiaphora  and  the  anaphora.  It  has 
Two  parts  of  been  discovered  that  usually  one  liturgy  in  every  class 
a  liturgy.  or  family  of  liturgies  supplies  the  proanaphora   to  all 

the  others.  Of  some  sixty  Oriental  liturgies  there  are  not  a  dozen 
exceptions  to  a  common  proanaphora.  This  would  seem  to  point 
to  a  common  source  of  one  branch  of  the  public  service;  while  the 
great  variety  found  in  the  anaphora  would  only  be  in  harmony  with 
the  spirit  of  the  East,  which  allowed  greater  variety  in  the  lan- 
guage and  order  of  public  worship. 

1.  The  oldest  liturgy  is  probably  that  of  St.  Clement,'  which 
dates  from  about  the  first  half  of  the  fourth  century.  While  it 
Liturgy  of  St.  ^^^  fallen  entirely  into  disuse,  it  is  of  interest  in  reveal- 
Clement,  ing  the  character  of  the  early  rituals,  and  in  assisting  to 
determine  the  changes  which  were  introduced  into  the  worshii^  in 
the  post-Nicene  period.  In  it  the  missa  catechumenorum  is  strictly 
separated  from  the  missa  Jidelhmi ;  the  forms  are  simple;  as  from 
very  early  times  the  sainted  dead  are  commemorated,  there  is  no 
Its  peculiar!-  reference  to  individual  names;  Mary  is  not  once  men- 
*'®^-  tioned:  all  of  which  circumstances  point  to  an  early 
origin.  In  these  respects,  as  well  as  with  reference  to  the  reading 
of  the  Scriptures  and  the  homily,  the  formula  of  consecration,  the 
petition  for  the  excommunicate,  and  the  prayer  for  enemies  and 
persecutors,  this  liturgy  agrees  in  sentiment  and  spirit  with  what  is 
given  by  Justin  Martyr  and  TertuUian,  and  would,  therefore,  justify 

the  opinion  that  the  eighth  book   of  the  "Apostolic 
Date  of  origin.    ^  .        .         „      .i,  t  p,        i-t 

Constitutions    might  be  a  product  of  the  third  century. 

Drey  has,  however,  pointed  out  two  circumstances  which  forbid  so 

early  an  origin :  First,  the  mention  of  the  ascetics,  for  whom  prayer 

is  offered,  and  to  whom  a  place  of  honor  next  to  the  clergy  is  as- 

Two  later  eie-   signed  in  the  missa  Jidelium;  secondly,  the  mention  of 

ments.  sitbdeacons  in  the  liturgy.     Both  these  classes  received 

official  recognition  after  the  third  century;  hence  the  origin,or  at  least 

the  present  form,  of  the  eighth  book  of  the  Constitutions,  containing 

the  Clementine  liturgy,  must  be  later  than  the  third  century.^ 

'  This  liturgy  is  found  in  tlie  eighth  book  of  the  "  Apostolic  Constitutions.'* 
V.  Cotelerins's  edition  of  the  Apostolic  Fathers.  For  a  critical  examination  and  esti- 
mate, V.  especially  Drey  and  Bickell,  elsewhere  cited. 

'  V.  Drey:  Neue  Untersuchungen  iiher  die  Consiitutionen  und  Kanones  der  AposfeL 
B.  139,  seq.    v.  Const.  Apos.,  1.  viii,  c.  11. 


THE   EARLIEST   LITURGIES.  487 

2.  Another  very  ancient  liturgy,  belonging  to  the  very  large  class 
called  by  Neale  the  Hierosolymitan  (or  of  Jerusalem),  is  Liturgy  of  s. 
that  of  S.  James.  "  From  this  Greek  liturgy  there  are  James. 
three  sets  of  offshoots.  The  first  of  these  is  the  Cesarean  branch. 
St.  Basil's  liturgy  is  a  recast  of  that  of  S.  James,  as  St.  Chrysostom's 
is  an  abbreviation  of  and  new  addition  to  that  of  St.  Basil.  From  St. 
Basil's  sprang  the  Armeno-Gregorian  rite,  as  at  present  ^^  three 
used;  while  St.  Chrysostom's  exercised  an  influence  on  branches, 
the  later  forms  of  the  Nestorians.  Circumstances  have  rendered 
the  Constantinopolitan  rites,  as  I  have  already  said,  sole  possessors 
of  the  orthodox  East.  The  liturgy  of  St.  Basil  is  said  on  all  Sun- 
days in  Lent  except  Palm  Sunday,  on  Maundy  Thursday,  Easter 
eve,  the  vigil  of  Christmas  and  the  Epiphany,  and  the  Feast  of  St. 
Basil  (January  1).  That  of  Chrysostom  is  appropriated  to  every 
other  day  in  the  year.  .  .  .  The  second  offshoot  of  S.  James  is  of  far 
less  importance.  It  embraces  but  two  offices,  the  Sicilian  liturgy, 
.  .  .  the  other  named  from  St.  Cyril,  which  was  never  widely 
used,  and  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  say  where  it  was  employed. 
The  Sicilian  liturgy  differs  principally  from  that  of  S.  James  in 
amplification.  .  .  .  The  third  offshoot  of  the  Hierosolymitan  office 
is  the  Syriac  liturgy  of  S.  James,  and  its  dependents.  It  differs 
verbally  from  the  Greek  office  of  the  same  name,  from  which  it  is 
derived.  The  prayers,  generally  speaking,  are  rather  shorter, 
though  the  Invocation  to  the  Holy  Ghost  is  much  amplified."  * 
This  Syriac  liturgy  is  believed  to  be  the  source  of  no  less  than 
thirty-nine  distinct  liturgies,  all  of  which  were  in  use  among  the 
Monophysites. 

3.  The  liturgy  of  S.  Mark  was  influential  in  Alexandria,  and  in 
the  churches  which  were  regarded  as  dependent  upon,  or  subject 
to,  the  Alexandrian  patriarch.  In  its  present  form  it  is  Liturgy  of  st 
usually  ascribed  to  Cyril,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  about  Mart. 

the  first  quarter  of  the  fifth  century.  Offshoots  from  this  were  used 
in  the  Coptic  and  Ethiopian  churches.^ 

Many  other  liturgical  forms  originated  in  the  East  which  had  a 
wider  or  narrower  influence,  whose  shades  of  difference  are  numerous 
and  interesting  to  notice.  As  before  said,  it  is  probable  that  the  more 
unbridled  spirit  of  the  Eastern  churches  helped  to  modify  and  adjust 
the  liturgies  to  the  varying  conditions;  while  the  centralizing  forces 
of  the  West  secured  for  the  churches  greater  uniformity  in  public 
worship. 

The  Western  liturgies  may  be  studied  under  four  classes:  1.  The 

'  Abridged  from  Neale. 

'  V.  Daniel :   Codex  Liturgictis  ecdesice  universoe,  Lipsice,  1853,  lib.  iv,  p.  135. 


488        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

Galilean,  which  has  been  traced  by  Mone  and  others '  to  Ephesus  as 
The  Western  ^^^  place  of  its  origin,  but  which  was  amended  from 
liturgies.  time  to  time  by  Hilary  and  others.    2,  The  other  member 

of  this  family  is  the  old  Spanish,  Gothic,  or  Mozarabic,  which  was 
probably  an  imported  liturgy,  but  was  largely  modified  by  Isidore 
of  Seville  in  the  seventh  century.  3.  The  Roman  liturgy,  which 
can  hardly  be  older  than  the  fifth  century.  It  seems  very  probable 
that  the  vigorous  bishoj^s  of  Rome,  during  the  fifth  and  sixth  cen- 
turies, gradually  brought  this  liturgy  into  form;  especialh^  Gregory 
the  Great,  who  was  active  in  effecting  reforms  in  ecclesiastical 
hymns  and  music,  prepared  a  sacramentarium  which  was  largely 
accepted  by  the  Latin  Church.  4.  The  Ambrosian,  named  after 
the  bishop  of  Milan,  like  all  other  liturgies,  was  a  work  of  gradual 
and  long-continued  development.  It  is  more  nearly  related  to  the 
Roman,  although  in  some  features  departing  widely  from  it.^  It  is 
still  in  use  in  the  diocese  of  Milan. 

All  the  great  liturgies  have  aimed  to  unify  the  thought  and  feel- 
The  philosophy  ing  of  the  Congregation  in  acts  of  solemn  worship, 
of  the  liturgy.  They  have  varied  according  to  the  views  of  their  com- 
pilers respecting  the  supreme  thought  which  should  dominate  the 
public  service.  Hence  the  Greek  and  the  Latin  liturgies  may  be 
regarded  as  an  attempt  to  express  in  the  great  assembly,  or  by  the 
community  of  believers,  for  purposes  of  instruction  or  edification, 
what  each  esteems  the  central  doctrine  of  Christianity.  The  modi- 
fications which  these  have  undergone  are  indices  of  the  shifting 
of  the  center  of  a  doctrinal  system,  or  of  a  modified  view  of  the 
best  means  of  expressing  the  dominant  truth  to  the  assembled 
Church. 

The  thought  of  the  liturgy  of  the  Greek  Church  is  the  divine  man- 
ifestation in  effecting  the  work  of  human  redemption; 
thought  m  the  extending  from  the  act  of  creation,  through  all  the  inter- 
Greek  liturgy,  ^gjjjj^g  dispensations,  to  the  life  of  Christ  from  his  birth 
to  his  glorification.  Every  prayer,  lesson,  antiphonal,  or  chant;  every 
posture,  action,  change  of  vestments,  shifting  of  colors,  etc.,  are 
so  many  symbols  to  illustrate  the  unfolding  history  of  redemption. 

'  Mone:  Lateinische  und  griecMsche  Messen  aus  dem  2ten  bis  Gten  Jahrhundert, 
Frankfort,  1850.     Neale:  Essays  on  Liturgiology. 

2  Daniel:  Op.  cit,  vol.  i,  pp.  48-11.3,  has  arranged  the  four  great  Western  litur- 
gies in  parallel  columns,  so  that  their  harmonies  and  variations  can  be  conveniently 
studied.  This  learned  liturgist  has  in  this  work  given  us  a  mass  of  curious  and  val- 
uable information,  and  his  researches  have  greatly  aided  in  tracing  these  liturgies  to 
their  origins  The  subject  is  beset  with  peculiar  difficulties,  and  the  scholars  are  by 
no  means  in  harmony  respecting  the  chronology  and  relative  influence  of  these 
forms  of  public  worship. 


THE   EARLIEST  LITURGIES.  489 

In  the  Latin  Church  the  entire  liturgy  centers  in  one  thought  of 
supreme  interest,  namely,  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  Christ,  veritably 
repeated  at  every  mass.      With  variety  in  secondary  ^.^^i^^^     ^q^.. 

parts,   during  the  changing  festivals  of  the  year,  the  trine    in    tbe 
•    /  J       u-   u    ^1  1,    1  4.  1  \  4.        Latin  liturgies, 

pomt  around  which  the  whole  system  revolves,  and  to- 
ward which  every  member  points,  is  the  sacrificial  offering  of 
Christ  in  the  mass  by  the  ofiiciating  priest,  and  the  appropriation 
of  its  benefits  by  the  worshipping  Church.  Hence  the  wider  range 
of  thought  to  be  expressed  by  the  Greek  liturgies  gave  occasion  for 
a  more  involved  and  imposing  symbolism;  while  the  Latin  litur- 
gies, by  a  concentration  of  attention  on  one  act  in  the  scheme  of 
redemption,  would  give  less  opportunity  for  spectacular  display, 
yet  would  produce  a  deeper  and  more  lasting  impression.^ 

'  In  the  liturgies  of  the  Protestant  Churches  the  thoughts  of  the  priesthood  of  all 
believers,  salvation  through  personal  faith,  individual  privilege  and  responsibility, 
and  instruction  of  the  people  in  doctrine  and  duty  are  very  prominent.  Hence  the 
eucharisl  is  not  celebrated  on  every  occasion  of  public  worship,  but  the  sermon  as- 
sumes a  place  of  greater  relative  prominence  than  in  other  liturgies. 


490         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   LORD'S   DAY,   OR  SUNDAY. 
§  1.  Histoi'ic  Statement. 

The  daily  assembly  of  the  disciples  for  worship  and  for  the  cele- 
Eucharist  ceie-  bration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  largely  ceased  with  the 
brated  on^  ^he  apostolic  age.  Soon  the  eucharist  was  consecrated 
week.  weekly  and  on  the  occasion   of  great  festivals,  till  at 

length  a  methodical  and  stated  observance  of  weekly  and  yearly 
feasts  was  instituted.  Daily  assemblies  were,  however,  recommended 
by  some  teachers  during  the  first  six  centuries,  and  explicit  injunc- 
tions for  such  gatherings  are  found  in  the  Apostolic  Constitutions.' 

As  before  observed,  the  Jewish  Christians  at  first  continued 
The  Jewish   ^o   frequent  the  temple   and    synagogue  services,  but 

Christians   at-  at  a  very  early  date  "  the  first  day  of  the  week  "  took 

tended    the  j  j  *j 

Jewish     wor-  the  place  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  as  the  chief  time  of 

^^'P-  public  worship   (Acts  xx,  7;  1  Cor.  xvi,  2)   in  many  of 

the  churches  of  Jewish  Christians.     It  was  the  day  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ,  of  most  of  his  appearances  to  the  disciples  after  the 
resurrection,  and  on  this  day  the  Holy  Spirit  was  poured 

Reason    for  '  j  .;      r  r 

observing   the  out  on  the  day  of  Pentecost."     For  these  reasons,  and 
St  day.  especially  after  the   destruction  of  the  sacred  city  had 

rendered  the  sacrificial  service  of  the  temple  impossible,  Sunday  be- 
came the  recognised  day  of  assembly  for  fellowship  and  for  the  cel- 
ebration of  the  Lord's  Supper.  It  is  called  in  "  The  Teaching  of  the 
Twelve"^  the  "Lord's  day  of  the  Lord"  (KvpiaKrjv  6e  Kvpiov). 
The  Jewish  Christians  at  first  observed  both  the  seventh  and  the 
first  day  of  the  week;  but  the  Gentile  Christians  kept  the  "Lord's 
day "  from  the  beginning.  It  is  difficult  to  doubt  that  it  had 
Relation  of  th  ^.postolic  Sanction.  The  relation  of  the  seventh  to  the 
seventh  to  the  first,  as  understood  by  the  Jewish  Christians,  may  not 
be  easy  to  determine;  yet  there  seem  to  be  indications 
that  the  seventh  was  regarded  as  a  day  of  preparation  for  the  first. 

'  V.  1.  viii,  cc.  35-41. 

2  Barr.y:  art.  "Lord's  Day,"  in  Diet,  of  Christ.  Antiq.,  vol.  ii,  p.  1043;  and  Hessey: 
"Lord's  Day,"  in  Smith's  Bid.  of  the  Bible,  vol.  ii,  p.  1677;  Schaff :  Hist,  of  the  Ch. 
Church,  vol.  ii,  p.  205. 

^  Chap,  xiv,  1.     The  seventh  day  is  not  mentioned  in  this  archaic  document. 


THE  LORD'S  DAY,  OR   SUNDAY.  491 

"The  idea  of  Christian  worship  would  attach  mainly  to  the  one; 
the  obligation  of  rest  would  continue  attached  to  the  other;  although 
a  certain  interchange  of  characteristics  would  grow  up,  as  worship 
necessitated  rest,  and  rest  naturally  suggested  worship."  ' 

In  his  letter  to  the  Magnesians,''  Ignatius  evidently  addressed  a 
Church  of  mixed  character,  since  he  speaks  of  some  ignatius's  tes- 
"  who  were  brought  up  in  the  ancient  order  of  things,"  Simony. 
who  "  have  come  to  the  possession  of  a  new  hope,  no  longer  observ- 
ing the  Sabbath,  but  living  in  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  day,"  ^ 
etc. 

There  is  neither  in  this  writer  nor  in  the  Barnabas  epistle  an  inti- 
mation that  Sunday  was  regarded  as  in  any  way  a  sub-  Tbe  Lord's  day 
stitute  for  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  nor  yet  a  continuation  ^o°r  the  *!fe wish 
of  it;  rather  it  was  a  new  institution.  It  is,  however.  Sabbath. 
impossible  to  determine  the  time  of  its  beginning;  no  impres- 
sive enactment,  like  that  in  the  case  of  the  Decalogue,  nq  enactment 
was  needed.  The  recollection  of  the  joyous  events  on  necessary, 
the  first  day  of  the  week  led  the  early  Christians  to  meet  together 
and  to  celebrate  them  with  gladness.  Not  until  the  fourth  cen- 
tury do  we  find  a  statement  intimating  that  the  Jewish  Sabbath, 
with  its  sanctions  and  duties,  was  transferred  to  the  first,  or  the 
"Lord's  day."  Eusebius  says:  "On  this  day,  which  is  the  first  of 
the  Light  and  of  the  true  Sun,  we  assemble  after  an  interval  of  six 
days,  and  celebrate  holy  and  spiritual  Sabbath.  .  .  .  All  things 
which  it  was  duty  to  do  on  the  Sabbath,  these  we  have  transferred 
to  the  Lord's  day."  ^  The  observance  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  in  the 
churches  of  Jewish  Christians  continued  for  the  first  five  centuries. 
In  the  East  both  days  were  celebrated  with  rejoicing;  in  the  West 
the  Jewish  Sabbath  was  observed  as  a  fast. 

The  reign  of  Constantine  marks  a  change  in  the  relations  of  the 
people  to  the  Lord's  day.  The  rescript  of  this  emperor,  constantine's 
commanding  the  observance  of  Sunday,  seems  to  have  rescript. 
had  little  regard  for  its  sanctity  as  a  Christian  institution;  but  the 
day  of  the  Sun  is  to  be  generally  regarded  with  veneration.  "  But 
the  believer  in  the  new  paganism,  of  which  the  solar  worship  was 
characteristic,  might  acquiesce  without  scruple  in  the  sanctity  of  the 
first  day  of  the  week."  ^ 

His  successors  not  only  sanctioned  the  legislation  of  Constantine, 

'  Barry:  in  loco  cit.  2  ^p ^  ^   -^^ 

^  V.  Lightfoot:  Ignatius,  ii,  p.  129.     His  remarks  on  this  passage  are  important. 

"  Not  merely  in  the  observance  of  it,  but  in  the  appropriation  of  all  those  ideas  and 

associations  which  are  involved  in  its  observance,"  etc. 

*  Com.,  Psalm  xcii.  ^  Milraan :  Hist,  of  Chrisiiariity,  vol.  ii,  p.  296. 

33 


492        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

but  enlarged  it,  by  multiplying  the  number  of  sacred  days,  and 

legally  prohibiting  the  transaction  of  branches  of  public  and  private 

business,  as  well  as  the  more  debasing  public  amusements.     "  Thus 

Theodosius  I.  increased  the  number  of  iudicial  holidays 

T'lirthcr  Drovl"  

sionsoftheem-  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-four.  The  Valentinians,  I. 
perors.  ^^^  jj^  prohibited  the  exaction  of  taxes  and  the  collec- 

tion of  moneys  on  Sunday,  and  enforced  the  previously  enacted  pro- 
hibition of  lawsuits.  Theodosius  the  Great,  in  A.  D.  386,  and  still 
more  stringently  the  younger  Theodosius,  in  A.  D.  425,  forbade 
theatrical  performances;  and  Leo  and  Anthemius,  in  A.  D.  460,  pro- 
hibited other  secular  amusements  on  the  Lord's  day." '  While,  by 
an  early  law,  Honorius  had  respected  the  public  amusements,  and 
provision  had  been  made  for  their  maintenance  from  the  public 
treasury,  by  a  later  rescript  the  sanctity  of  the  Lord's  day  was 
Humane  provi-  guarded,  and  a  humane  provision  made  for  the  judges 
sions.  to  visit  the  prisons  on  Sunday,  and   inquire  into  the 

treatment  of  prisoners,  and  alleviate,  as  far  as  possible,  the  hard- 
ships of  their  condition. 

Various  other  imperial  enactments  make  plain  the  duties  of  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  officers  respecting  the  observance  of  Sunday,  until 
it  takes  its  place  as  an  institution  to  be  guarded  and  regulated  by 
the  government. 

§  2.  Sanctity  and  Ground  of  Observance. 

It  is  indisputable  that  the  resurrection  of  Christ  was  the  one 
all-sufficient  fact  which  accounts  for  the  rise  and  growth  of  the 
Christian  Church.  "  Jesus  and  the  resurrection  "  was  the  burden 
of  apostolic  preaching.  Hence  the  recollection  of  the  day  of  the 
resurrection  was  so  indelibly  impressed  upon  the  hearts  of  the  first 
disciples  that  on  its  return  they  came  together  to  pray,  and  to 
recall  the  memory  of  the  Lord,  by  the  breaking  of  bread  and  the 
celebration  of  the  eucharist.  It  was  the  dictate  of  the  glowing  love 
for  Christ,  whose  followers  they  delighted  to  be  reckoned. 

We  fail  to  find  the  slightest  trace  of  a  law  or  apostolic  edict  in- 
stituting the  observance  of  the  "day  of  the  Lord;"  nor  is  there  in 
the  Scriptures  an  intimation  of  a  substitution  of  this  for  the  Jewish 
Sabbath.  The  primal  idea  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  was  cessation  of 
labor,  rest;  the  transference  of  this  idea  to  the  first  day  of  the  week 
does  not  appear  in  the  teachings  of  Christ  nor  of  his  apostles.  Nor 
in  the  Council  of  Jerusalem,  when  the  most  important  decisions  are 
reached  relative  to  the  ground  of  union  of  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christ- 

'  Schaflf:  Eist.  of  (he  Christian  Church,  vol,  iii,  p.  381.  Cod.  Theod.,  xv,  5,  2,  a. 
386:   "Nullus  Solis  die  populo  spectaculum  prsebat." 


THE   LORD'S  DAY,  OR   SUNDAY.  493 

ians,  is  one  word  found  respecting  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath. 
Contrariwise,  Paul  distinctly  warns  against  the  imposition  of 
burdens  upon  the  Church  respecting  days,  but  declares  for  a  con- 
scientious freedom  in  these  observances.  "Let  every  man  be 
fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind"  (Rom.  xiv,  5,  6),  Still  more 
strongly  does  he  upbraid  the  Galatian  Church  for  putting  itself 
again  in  bondage  to  the  weak  and  beggarly  elements,  em  rd  dodev^ 
Kal  7TTw;^d  OTOLx^la,  as  days,  months,  times,  and  years;  while  in  his 
letter  to  the  Colossians  (Col.  ii,  16,  17)  he  speaks  of  the  entire  aboli- 
tion of  the  Jewish  Sabbath. 

From  all  the  passages  of  the  New  Testament  touching  this  ques- 
tion, it  is  plain  that  there  is  no  intimation  of  the  transference  of  the 
Sabbath  to  the  first  day  of  the  week,  nor  of  imposing  upon  Christ- 
ians the  obligation  to  observe  it  after  the  manner  of  the  Jewish 
Sabbath.  Rest  was  the  chief  thought  connected  with  the  one; 
joyous  activity  and  glad  worship  with  the  other.  Both  days  con- 
tinued to  be  observed  by  the  Jewish  Christians,  but  the  associations 
of  the  two  were  entirely  dissimilar.  Like  all  Christian  institutions 
which  have  been  examined,  the  first  day  of  the  week,  or  Sunday, 
came  to  be  hallowed  "  from  a  natural  fitness  of  things,"  and  not 
by  formal  apostolic  or  ecclesiastical  enactment.* 

The  distinction  between  the  Jewish  Sabbath  and  the  Lord's  day 
is  repeatedly  set  forth  by  the  apostolic  fathers,  and  the  difference 
in  the  mode  of  observance.  In  the  Barnabas  letter  it  is  argued  that 
the  six  days  mentioned  in  Gen.  ii,  2,  signify  a  thousand  years  each. 
After  this  time  Christ,  by  the  overthrow  of  Antichrist,  will  reign  the 
seventh  thousand  years,  which  is  the  day  of  rest  mentioned  in  Gen- 
esis. The  rest  and  the  sanctification  of  the  real  Sabbath  will  be  the 
perfect  sanctification  of  believers,  and  the  working  of  righteousness. 
"  Wherefore,"  he  concludes,  "  we  keep  the  eighth  day  with  joyf ul- 
ness,  the  day,  also,  in  which  Jesus  rose  again  from  the  dead." " 

Justin  Martyr  is  very  clear  in  his  statements  relative  to  the  obli- 
gation and  observance  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  and  of  the  Justin's  opin- 
Lord's  day.  In  his  dialogue  with  the  Jew  Tryphon,  *°°- 
who  taunts  the  Christians  with  having  no  festivals  nor  Sabbaths, 
Justin  clearly  claims  that  Sunday  is  to  them  a  new  Sabbath,  and 
that  the  entire  Mosaic  law  has  been  abrogated.^  The  The  Mosaic  law 
new  law  binding  upon  Christians  regards  every  day  as  abrogated. 
a  Sabbath,  instead  of  passing  one  day  in  rest  or  absolute  idleness. 
He  further  claims  that  the  Sabbath  was  given  to  Israel  under  peculiar 

'  V.  Barry:  art.  "Lord's  Day,"  in  Smith  and  Cheatham's  Dictionary  of  Chriatian 
Antiquities,  p.  1043. 
*  c.  XV.  ^  Gum  Tryph.,  cc.  10,  11. 


494        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

circumstances,  and  hence  could  not  be  of  perpetual,  but  must  be  of  only 
temporary  obligation,'  This  temporary  character  of  the  command- 
ment is  further  argued  from  the  fact  that  the  Sabbath  had  not  been 
instituted  at  the  beginning,  but  was  first  given  to  the  Jews  in  the 
wilderness.  As  prior  to  Abraham  circumcision  had  been  unnecessary, 
and  before  Moses  the  Sabbath  had  not  been  enjoined,  so  since  the 
coming  of  the  Son  of  man  the  obligation  to  hallow  the  Sabbath  no 
longer  exists. 

Tertullian  claims  that  Adam,  Abel,  Enoch,  Noah,  Abraham,  and 
Tertuiiian's  Melchizedek  knew  nothing  of  a  Sabbath  day,^  and  that 
view.  ^jjg  law  of  Moses  is  not  in  perpetuity,  but  only  of  tem- 

porary obligation.  The  cessation  from  labor  did  not  have  its 
ground  in  the  law  of  Moses,  but  came  from  the  consideration  that 
the  joyous  festival  of  the  Lord's  day  should  not  be  marred  by  any 
thing  which  would  disturb  or  turn  the  thought  away  from  God,  and 
give  place  to  the  devil. ^  That  on  Sunday  the  Christians  stood  while 
praying,  and  did  not  fast,  find  their  explanation  in  the  fact  that  the 
day  of  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord  was  looked  upon  as  a  day  of  re- 
joicing and  triumph,^  and  that  such  practice  had  apostolic  sanction. 

With  respect  to  the  strictness  with  which  the  first  day  of  the 
week  was  observed  during  the  first  three  centuries,  the  following 
facts  are  important  to  notice.  Between  the  death  of  the  apostles 
and  the  edict  of  Milan,  the  Lord's  day  was  sanctified  by  a  Church 
unrecognised  by  the  state,  and  exposed  to  opposition  and  sometimes 
to  bitter  persecution.  The  motive  for  its  observance  Avas,  there- 
fore, purely  moral  and  religious.  The  social  position  of 
The  motive  >  f         J  »  «  i 

moral  and  re-  the  early  Church,  drawing  its  members,  for  the  most 

^^°"^'  part,  from  the  poorer  artisans,  traders,  and  slaves,  for- 

bade the  strict  and  general  keeping  of  the  Lord's  day,  much  more 
of  both  the  Sabbath  and  Sunday.  Thus  the  universal  hallowing 
of  the  day  of  the  resurrection  was  impossible. 

True,  Tertullian  advised  Christians  to  postpone  all  business  until 
Sunday  was  over,^  and  the  Apostolic  Constitutions  enjoin 

Provisions    for  *'  '  -r  -,i       -,  t      ^^    ^  ^  i 

Observance  of  that  the  Sabbath  and  the  Lord  s  day  shall  be  observed  as 
the  sabbath.  f gg^ivals,"  "  because  the  former  is  the  memorial  of  the 
creation,  the  latter  of  the  resurrection ; "  that  the  slaves  work  five  days; 
that  on  the  Sabbath  day  and  the  Lord's  day  they  are  to  have  leisure 
to  go  to  church  for  instruction  in  religious  truth.'     But  it  is  quite 

•  Id.,  ea.  18,  19.  ^  cb,j_  Judceos,  c.  4.  ^  Be  Oratore,  c.  23. 

*  De  Corona  Mil,  c.  3.     Irenseus:  Frag.,  c.  7.        =  de  Oral,  c.  23.         ^  1.  vii,  c.  23. 
'  1.  viii,  c.  33.     The  last  book  may  have  been  composed  after  the  pubUcation  of 

the  edict  of  toleration.  The  mention  of  both  the  Sabbath  and  the  Lord's  day  is 
evidence  of  the  Jewish-Christian  thoueht  which  characterizes  most  of  this  collection. 


THE   LORD'S  DAY,   OR   SUNDAY.  495 

incredible  that  the  large  body  of  Christians  could  absolutely 
cease  from  toil  during  two  days  of  the  week,  besides  attending 
other  festivals  which  had  been  instituted;  or  that  masters  would 
permit  slaves  and  dependents  to  desist  from  labor  for  so  large 
a  proportion  of  the  time,  especially  since  the  Christian  Church 
had  little  favor  with  the    heathen  world.      The  Chris-      ,        ,^.„^ 

Impossibility 

tians  in   the  the  third  century  being  veiy  largely  in      of  literal  ob- 

the   minority,    especially   outside    the    great    marts   of 

trade,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  could  secure  even  a  single 

day  of  the  seven  for  positive  and  continuous  cessation  from  toil. 

It  is  well  known   that  Christian  gatherings  took  place   at  night, 

and  it  is   probable  that  many  converts  of  the  servile  or  artisan 

classes  laboured  hard  on  the  seventh  and  first  days  in  order  to  be 

present  at  the  evening  assemblies  and  the  sacred  meal.'      While 

the   Jewish    Christians   still   adhered   wdth   great   tenacity    to   the 

observance  of  the  seventh  day,  in  the  estimate  of  the 

^        .,  -  .  f>  ,  1    1  11  1      The      Gentile 

Gentile  converts  this,  at  nrst,  could  have  had  no  such   churches    un- 

sanctity  or  authoritative  sanction.  Converts  from  hea-  ^^th^the^obu'^ 
thenism,  who  had  had  little  previous  acquaintance  with   gation  to  keep 

1       T       •  1    1-1      •  1     1  1       c  -  •  ,    .        the  Lord's  day. 

the  Jewish  bcriptures,  were  probably,  for  a  time,  not  in 
a  position  to  appreciate  the  form  and  obligation  of  the  fourth  com- 
mandment as  in  its  spirit  applying  to  the  Lord's  day.** 

Thus  the  recognition  of  two  days  was  found  in  the  churches 
composed  chiefly  of  Jewish  Christians,  while  in  the  Gentile-Christian 
churches  the  first  day  of  the  week  would  be  more  exclusively  celebrated. 
When  Tertullian  says,  "On  the  Lord's  day  every  one  of  -jije  fourth 
us  Christians  keeps  the  Sabbath,  meditating  in  the  law,   commandment 

.    .  ,     ^  '  *    .  ,       '    not  the  basis  of 

and  rejoicing  in  the  works  of  God,"  there  is  noticed   Lord's  day  ob- 
that  adherence  to  a  practical  rule  which  was  character-  ^^^ 
istic   of   the  Western  mind,   but  no  inclination  to    sabbatize    the 
Lord's  day  by  deriving  the  obligation  for  its  observance  from  the 
fourth   commandment.^     Notwithstanding   the   beginnings   of   the 

'  Cuuninghara  :   The  Growth  of  the  Church,  p.  281. 

^  V.  Rigg:  The  Sabbath  and  the  Sabbath  Law  before  and  after  Christ,  London,  1869, 
p.  45. 

^  "  It  is  very  suggestive  that  in  the  Scriptures  the  repose  of  God  after  creation  is 
made  the  prototype  and  basis  for  the  celebration  of  the  Sabbath  (Gen.  ii,  3;  Exod. 
XX,  8,  seq.).  It  is  therefore  implied  that  it  is  our  innermost  Godlikeness  that  calls 
for  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath — the  truly  rational,  religiously  moral  essence  of  man,  and 
not  the  mere  natural  need  of  repose  and  enjoyment.  .  .  .  God  blessed  the  Sabbath 
day ;  there  rests  upon  its  observance  a  special,  an  extraordinary  benediction,  an  im- 
partation  of  heavenly  goods,  even  as  the  blessing  upon  labour  is  primarily  only  an 
impartation  of  temporal  goods.  The  Sabbath  has  not  merely  a  negative  significancy, 
is  not  a  mere  interruption  of  labour,  but  it  has  a  very  rich  positive  significancy — it  is 


49G         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

sacerdotal  principle  are  found  in  Tertullian's  writings,  and  its  com- 
plete triumph  was  realized  under  Cyprian,  there  is  by  neither  of  these 
fathers  any  distinct  recognition  of  the  fourth  commandment  as  the 
ground  and  reason  of  hallowing  the  day  of  the  Lord's  resurrection. 

The  Alexandrian  school,  as  represented  by  Clement  of  Alexandria 
and  Origen,  more  strongly  presents  the  spiritual  view  of 
school  more  the  Lord's  day.  In  his  argument  with  Celsus,  Origen 
spiritual.  claims  that  true  Christians  make  all  days  Lord's  days; 

yet  in  other  writings  he  exalts  the  first  day  over  the  seventh,  as 
symbolic  of  a  continuous  Sabbath  of  rest. 

In  the  midst  of  the  corrupting  influences  of  heathenism,  and  on 

,   account  of  the  widespread  indifference  of  the  Church  of 
Reasons   of  ,  '^ 

seeking  a  legal  the  third  century,  after  the  ardor  of  her  first  love  had 
cooled,  the  Christian  teachers  felt  the  necessity  of  bring- 
ing some  stress  of  authority  upon  the  Christian  conscience  to  hold 
it  to  the  faithful  observance  of  the  first  day,  as  the  Jews  had  known 
the  power  of  a  positive  enactment  in  keeping  them  steadfast  in  the 
hallowing  of  their  Sabbath.  The  constant  temptation  of  the  Christ- 
ians to  attend  upon  the  heathen  spectacles  and  festivities  could,  in 
the  case  of  such  whose  type  of  piety  was  low,  no  longer,  as  at  first, 
be  broken  by  considerations  of  the  high  privileges  of  Christian  wor- 
ship, and  of  the  commemoration  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  but 
the  restraints  coming  from  a  quasi-legal  enactment  were  found  to  be 
more  and  more  necessary.  Thus  while  the  Christian  fathers  of  the 
second  and  third  centuries  are  in  entire  accord  in  teaching  that  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  the  Lord's  day,  is  that  which  Christians  should 
_,. .  „      celebrate,  there  is,  nevertheless,  noticed  during  the  un- 

This    sanction  '     ,  '  _        '  _  ^  ^ 

Is  of  apostolic  fortunate  times  of  Tertullian  and  Cyprian  a  growing 
tendency  to  enforce  the  observance  of  Sunday  by  con- 
siderations somewhat  similar  to  those  recognised  under  the  Mosaic 
dispensation  and  by  the  Jewish  Christians;  yet  the  obligation 
comes  not  from  the  fourth  commandment,  but  from  the  apostolic 
The  Christian   institution  of  the  Lord's  day.     Nor  is  there  any  evidence 

emperors  have   ^i^^t  the  Christian  emperors,  from  Constantine  to  Jus- 
no  reference  to      .....         ^  ' 
the  fourth  com-   tinian,  in  their  edicts  for  the  observance  and  regulation 

of  Sunday,  were  influenced  by  the  Jewish  law.     During 

the  giving  free  scope  to  the  higher,  time-transcending  nature  of  the  rational,  Godlike 
spirit,  the  reattaching  of  the  spirit  that  had  been  immersed  by  labour  into  the  tem- 
poral to  the  imperishable  and  to  the  divine.  .  .  .  The  celebration  of  the  Sabbath 
belongs  to  morality,  per  se,  and  does  not  depend  on  the  fact  of  the  state  of  redemp- 
tion from  sinfulness ;  but  where  sin  is  yet  a  dominant  power,  there  its  observance  is 
less  free,  legally  more  strict,  than  where  the  freedom  of  the  children  of  God  prevails." 
Wutke:   Christian  Ethics,  trans,  by  Lacroix,  New  York,  1873,  vol.  ii,  pp.  213,  214. 


THE  LORD'S  DAY,  OR  SUNDAY.  497 

the  first  six  centuries  there  are  few  if  any  instances  of  their  direct 
appeal  to  the  fourth  commandment.  Neither  can  many  passages 
in  the  Christian  writers,  nor  any  conciliary  decision,  be  quoted  in 
which  the  authority  for  keeping  the  first  day  of  the  week  is  de- 
rived from  the  Mosaic  law. 

Nevertheless,  from  the  time  of  the  attempts  of  the  emperors  to 
adjust  the  civil  conditions  to  the  recognition  of  Sunday  ^^^  ^^^  ^ 
as  the  chief  religious  holiday,  the  sense  of  obligation  view  suppiant- 
to  keep  sacred  the  first  day  of  the  week,  coming  from  ^  m  r  . 
legal  enactment,  more  and  more  supplanted  the  consideration  of 
the  high  and  joyful  privilege  which  had  animated  the  Christian 
Church  during  the  first  years  of  its  activity.  From  the  last  part  of 
the  sixth  century  the  strict  legalistic  view  becomes  more  and  more 
prominent,  and  the  rulers  in  State  and  Church  incline  to  strengthen 
the  civil  and  conciliary  enactments  respecting  the  Lord's  day  by 
divine  authority  as  contained  in  the  fourth  commandment.' 

'  The  sabbath  hterature  is  of  immense  volume.  Since  the  Reformation  the  dis- 
cussions upon  tlie  nature  and  obhgation  of  the  Sabbath  have  been  many  and  ex- 
haustive. The  fohowing  are  thorough  and  scholarly :  Bingham :  Antiquities  of  the 
Christian  Church,  bk.  xx,  chap.  ii.  Binterim:  Denkwiirdigkeiten  der  Christ-Kath- 
olischen  Kirche,  vol.  v,  1,  c.  1.  Heylin:  History  of  the  Sabbath.  Hessey:  Sunday:  Its 
Origin,  History,  and  Present  Obligation,  Bampton  Lectures,  London,  1860.  Gilfillan: 
The  Sabbath  Viewed  in  the  Light  of  Reason,  Revelation,  and  History,  New  York,  1862. 
Probst:  Kirchliche  Disciplin  der  drei  ersten  Jahrhunderte,  Bd.  iii,  1.  Cox:  The  Liter- 
ature on  the  Sabbath  Question,  Edinburgh,  1865.  Barry :  "The  Lord's  Day,"  in  Smith 
and  Cheetham's  dictionary  of  Oh.  Antiquities,  vol.  ii,  pp.  1042-1053.  Zockler: 
"Sonntagsfeier,"  in  Herzog  u.  Plitt's  Real-Encyklopadie,  Bd.  xiv,  ss.  428-435. 


498         SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EASTER    AND     OTHER     FESTIVALS. 
§  1.  Idea  and  Time  of  Observance, 

Besides  the  weekly  observance  of  Sabbath  and  the  Lord's  day, 

„^     .  ^  the  Passover,  with  which  the  passion  and  resurrection 

The    influence  .  '  .      .  . 

of  the  Jewish  of  Christ  were  so  intimately  associated,  continued  to 
passover.  exert  a  very  considerable  influence  upon  Christians  of 

Jewish  origin.  This  great  festival,  however,  soon  obtained  an 
exclusively  Christian  significance,  and  became  a  proper  Christian 
Passover,  especially  in  churches  composed  of  converts  from 
heathenism,  to  whom  Jewish  institutions  were  largely  matters  of 
indifference.  All  Christians  alike  agreed  in  the  propriety  of  the 
yearly  celebration  of  the  great  events  which  were  regarded  as 
the  most  important  in  the  history  of  redemption.  Respecting  the 
significance  of  these  facts  there  was  no  difference  of  opinion;  to 
keep  alive  the  remembrance  of  the  passion,  death,  and  resurrection 
of  the  Lord  was  regarded  by  all  alike  as  a  high  privilege  and  an 
imperative  duty.  The  commemoration  of  the  resurrection  soon 
became  the  most  important  event  of  Holy  Week,  and  is  now  known 
as  Easter. 

At  an  early  date,  probably  in  the  first  half  of  the  second  century, 
Controversy  a  difference  of  opinion  arose  as  to  the  proper  time  of 
of*°observinr'^  Commemorating  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  consequently 
Easter.  respecting  the  time  of  observing  the  related  events  of 

the  institution  of  the  eucharist  and  of  the  crucifixion.  Probably 
this  controversy  may  be  ultimately  traced  to  the  diversity  of  opin- 
ion in  the  churches  of  Jewish  and  Gentile  origin  respecting  the  ob- 
ligations of  the  Mosaic  institutions.^  One  party,  the  Christians  of 
Asia  Minor  and  a  few  others,  adhered  strictly  to  the  tradition 
respecting  the  time  of  celebrating  the  passover  by  Christ  and 
his  apostles  just  before  the  crucifixion.  Hence  they  uniformly 
The  Judaizing  observed  the  Christian  passover  on  the  fourteenth  day  of 
party.  ^j^g  month  Nisan,  which  was  the  first  month  of  the  sacred 

year  of  the  Jews.  This  was  observed  as  a  fast.  In  the  evening  of 
the  same  day,  Roman  time,  but  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth 

^  V.  Renan  :  Marc-Aurele,  pp.  194,  195. 


EASTER  AND   OTHER  FESTIVALS.  499 

Nisan,  Jewish  time,  they  partook  of  the  conununion,  to  commemo- 
rate the  last  paschal  supper  of  Christ.  The  beginning  of  the  festival 
might  fall  upon  any  day  of  the  week;  only  it  had  a  fixed  date,  the 
fourteenth  Nisan/  and  this  day  regulated  the  entire  Easter  festival. 
A  second  party,  of  which  the  Roman  Church  was  the  leader,  cel- 
ebrated the  crucifixion  of  Christ  on  Friday,  the  day  of  The  western 
the  week  on  which  it  actually  occurred.  The  Sunday  P'^'^'^y- 
following  was  observed  as  Easter,  or  the  day  of  the  resurrection. 
They  extended  the  fast  from  Friday  till  Easter  day,  and  did 
not  celebrate  the  eucharist  before  the  festival  of  the  resurrection. 
By  this  arrangement  the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  Christ  always 
fell  upon  Friday,  and  that  of  the  resurrection  on  Sunday;  yet  the 
feast  was  not  fixed,  as  in  the  other  case,  but  movable.  Hence  the 
Christian  Sunday,  or  the  day  of  resurrection,  and  not  the  Jewish 
paschal  day,  regulated  the  Easter  festival. 

§  2.  Attempts  to  Reconcile  Differences. 

The  controversy  respecting  Easter  had  no  reference  to  its  doctrinal 
import;  herein  all  Christians  were  essentially  agreed.  The  import  of 
It  was  rather,  as  before  said,  a  question  of  adherence  to,  ^^^  question, 
or  independence  of  Judaism,  and  of  harmonizing  the  practice  of  the 
Christian  world  in  the  commemoration  of  the  most  important  events 
in  the  Saviour's  earthly  mission.  The  fierceness  of  the  controversy 
threatened  the  peace  and  unity  of  the  Church.  Near  the  middle  of 
the  second  century  Polycarp,  the  venerable  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  vis- 
ited Rome  in  the  interests  of  peace,  and  had  an  inter-  Attempts  at 
view  with  its  bishop,  Anicetus.'  The  attempt  to  unify  reconciliation. 
the  churches  was  unsuccessful,  although  a  spirit  of  mutual  charity 
was  promoted.  About  twenty  years  later  the  question  was  again 
debated  in  Laodicea  between  the  Quarto-decimanians  and  their 
opponents.  No  rupture  occurred  because  of  the  mutual  forbear- 
ance of  the  parties.  But  the  controversy  continued.  Toward  the 
close  of  the  second  century  the  Roman  bishop,  Victor,  The  demand  of 
attempted  to  interfere  with  the  churches  of  Asia  Minor,  Victor. 
by  commanding  them  to  desist  from  their  mode  of  celebrating 
Easter.  To  this  demand  the  synod  of  Asia  Minor,  which  met  at 
Ephesus,  made  a  most  spirited  reply  through  Polycrates,  bishop 
of   that  city,  appealing  in  defense  of  their  rule  to  the  traditions 

'  Eusebius :  Hist.  Eccles.,  v,  c.  23.  "  It  was  incumbent  on  them,  at  all  times,  to 
make  an  end  of  the  fast  on  this  day,  on  whatever  day  of  the  week  it  should  happen 
to  fall."     Also  Hippolytus:  Philosophumena,  viii,  c.  18. 

^  V.  Eusebius :  Hist.  Eccles.,  v,  c.  24. 


500        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

which  had  come  down  to  them  from  the  apostles  John  and  Philip, 
as  well  as  from  the  venerable  Polycarp.  To  sustain 
^^  '  their  practice,  the  church  of  Rome  and  its  adherents 
among  the  Eastern  churches  quoted  the  traditions  received  from 
the  apostles  Peter  and  Paul.  The  schism,  which  seemed  immi- 
nent on  the  threat  of  Victor  to  excommunicate  the  Quarto-deci- 
Good  offices  of  manians,  was  happily  prevented  by  the  good  offices  of 
ireniBus.  i\iq  other  bishops,  especially  of  Irenaeus,  Bishop  of  Lyons. 

While  of  the  party  of  Victor,  he  claimed  that  no  difference  of 
opinion,  where  an  essential  dogma  of  Christianity  was  not  involved, 
could  justify  the  jeoparding  of  the  peace  of  the  Church  and  the 
extreme  penalty  of  excommunication. 

The  Council  of  Aries,  A.  D.  314,  and  the  Council  of  Nice,  A.  D. 
conciUary  de-  ^^5,  decided  in  favor  of  the  Roman  rule,  and  those  who 
cisions.  refused  to  accede  to  this  decision  were  regarded  as  here- 

tics. The  rule  promulgated  by  the  latter  council  was  that  Easter 
Rule  for  ceie-  should  be  celebrated  on  the  first  Sunday  following  the 
bration.  fij-g^   f^u   moon   after   the  vernal   equinox,   and  must 

always  come  after  the  Jewish  passover.  If,  however,  the  full  moon 
occurs  on  a  Sunday,  Easter  falls  on  the  Sunday  after.  Thus  the 
time  of  this  festival  may  vary  from  March  21  to  April  25.  This 
was  probably  the  substance  of  the  Nicene  decisions.^ 

This  conciliary  decision  did  not,  however,  settle  the  differences  in 
the  Eastern  and  Western  churches,  owing  to  the  different  astronom- 
ical cycles  employed  for  the  calculation  of  Easter.  The  cycles 
aimed  to  discover  a  period  which  should  contain  an  exact  number  of 
Different  cy-  lunar  months  and  of  tropical  years.  Many  cycles  were 
®'^^-  proposed,  as  one  of  eight  years,  of  nineteen  years  (the 

Metonic),  of  seventy-six  years  (the  Calippic),  one  of  one  hundred 
and  twelve  years,  engraved  on  the  side  of  the  chair  in  the  statue  of 
Hippolytus  (v.  Fig.  50),  one  of  eighty-four  years,  which  was  a  modi- 
fication of  the  Calippic,  etc.  The  diversity  of  cycles  resulted  in  a  cor- 
responding difference  in  reckoning  the  Easter  Sunday.*     Since  the 

'  The  decisions  of  the  Nicene  Council  are  not  quite  clearly  stated  in  any  single  au- 
thority ;  they  must  be  gathered  from  several  sources,  and  have  not  been  entirely 
unquestioned. 

'  The  recent  works  occasioned  by  the  bearing  of  the  Easter  controversy  upon  the 
criticism  of  the  gospels,  especially  John,  are  quite  numerous  and  important.  Among 
the  ablest  may  be  mentioned  Hilgenfeld :  JDer  Paschastreit  der  alien  Kirche  nach  seiner 
Bedeutung  fiir  die  Kirchengeschichte,  etc.,  Halle,  1860.  Steitz:  In  the  Studienu.  Krit- 
iken,  1856,  1857,  1859.  Schurer:  Die Paschastreiten  des  2ten  Jahrhunderts,  1870.  For 
mathematical  computations  see  especially  Ideler :  Handhuch  der  Math,  und  tech.  Chro- 
nologie,  Breslau,  1825.  De  Rossi:  Inscriptioms  Christ,  urbis  Pomce,  Introduction,  gives 
valuable  discussions. 


EASTER   AND   OTHER  FESTIVALS.  501 

Alexandrian  Church  fixed  the  vernal  equinox  on  the  21st  of  March, 
while  with  the  Romans  it  fell  on  March  18,  it  is  evident  that  there 
must  have  been  a  diversity  in  the  observance  of  Easter  Sunday. 
This  diversity  has  not  yet  disappeared,  since  the  Eastern  Church 
has  never  adopted  the  improved  Gregorian  calendar/ 

§  3.    The  Ceremonies  of  Easter. 

To  understand  these  it  is  necessary  to  remember  that  Easter  was 
the  central  point  of  the  paschal  season,  which  very  early  xwo  divisions 
extended  over  a  period  of  fifteen  days.  The  first  week  °f  *^*^  festival. 
was  designated  Trdaxa  oravQcjoifxov,  or  the  passover  of  the  cross;  the 
second  week,  ndaxO'  dvaordoLnov,  or  the  passover  of  the  resurrection. 
While  not  of  apostolic  institution,  this  observance  of  Easter  was 
early  introduced  into  the  Church.  Tertullian  seems  to  recognise  its 
celebration,*  and  the  Apostolic  Constitutions  represent  it  as  quite 
general.  The  7rdo%a  oravpojacfiov  was  usually  kept  as  a  strict  fast, 
from  midnight  of  the  previous  Sunday  (Palm  Sunday)  till  cock- 
crowing  on  Easter  morn.  On  Good  Friday,  the  day  of  crucifix- 
ion, the  fast  was  continued  beyond  midnight  of  the  fol-  Manner  of  ob- 
lowing  day;  the  kiss  of  peace  was  prohibited,  the  orna-  servance. 
nients  of  the  altar  were  removed;  the  lights  were  extinguished;  no 
chanting  was  allowed  in  the  processions;  there  was  no  consecration 
of  the  eucharist;  the  collects  were  mostly  intercessory. 

As  the  Easter  morn  drew  near,  the  signs  of  sorrow  and  mourning 
were  laid  aside,  the  lamps  and  tapers  were  lighted,  Fromson-owto 
and  a  scene  of  darkness  and  mourning  was  succeeded  gladness. 
by  one  of  splendour  and  gladness.  Prayer,  supplication,  the  singing 
of  psalms  and  hymns,  the  reading  of  appropriate  Scripture  lessons, 
and  homilies  from  the  clergy  occupied  the  hours  of  the  evening  and 
night.  The  Easter  Sunday,  from  Easter  eve  to  the  evening  of 
Easter  day,  was  one  continuous  celebi'ation  of  the  resurrection.  The 
Scripture  readings  included  the  entire  resurrection  history;  the  joy 

'  Kaltenbrunner :  Real-Encyklopn,die  der  Christlichen  Alterthiimer,  article  "Ostern," 
Bd.  i,  s.  565,  seq.,  divides  the  Easter  controversies  into  three  periods:  1st.  Tiie 
theologico-dogmatic,  reaching  to  the  Council  of  Nice.  A.  D.  325.  2d.  The  astronora- 
ico-clironologic,  from  A.  D.  325  to  the  time  of  Dionysius  Exiginis,  A.  D.  525. 
3d.  From  A.  D.  525  to  the  time  of  the  Venerable  Bede,  about  the  middle  of  the  eighth 
century,  during  which  the  rule  accepted  by  the  Catholic  Church  was  in  conflict  with 
the  various  peculiarities  of  the  provinces.  For  the  theologian  the  first  is  of  especial 
interest,  on  account  of  the  connection  of  these  controversies  with  the  criticism  of  the 
evangelists.  The  second  and  third  are  more  important  to  the  historian,  because  they 
are  indispensable  to  the  solution  of  chronological  questions. 

*  ad  Uxor.,  ii,  c.  4. 


502        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

of  the  people  was  unrestrained;  all  labour  was  suspended.    After  the 

recosrnition  of  Christianity  by  the  empire,  prisoners 
Acts  of  mercy.  ^     „  i     j   t.^.  r        •  j     i 

were  oiten  released,  debtors  lorgiven,  and  slaves  manu- 
mitted. The  entire  week  was  thus  considered  a  season  of  uninter- 
rupted rejoicing. 

By  degrees  the  fast  preparatory  to  Easter  Sunday  was  lengthened, 
Lengthenedob-  until,  probably  about  the  time  of  Constantine,  it  reached 
servance.  forty  days  (Quadragesima,  Lent).     The  rejoicings  were 

also  continued  through  the  whole  period  of  fifty  days  (Quinqua- 
gesima)  from  Easter  to  the  day  of  Pentecost  (Whitsunday).' 

§  4.   The  Festival  of  Pentecost. 

The  term  Pentecost  was  used  by  the  ancient  Church  in  two  senses: 

..„     one  had  reference  to  the  fiftieth  day  after  the  resur- 
Two  uses  of  the  .  ^      .  .   . 

word     Pente-  rection  of  Christ,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  was  poured  out 

^°^  ■  upon  the  infant  Church ;  the  other  included  the  whole 

period  between  Easter  and  Whitsuntide,  which  was  considered  as 
belonging  to  the  rejoicings  of  Easter.  Used  in  the  latter  sense  it 
was  called  Quinquagesima.  During  the  fifty  days  the  eucharist  was 
Mode  of  obser-  celebrated  daily,  fasting  was  forbidden,  and  the  congre- 
vance.  gation  stood  while  praying.    Also  from  the  fifth  century 

the  Lord's  ascension  was  observed  on  the  fortieth  day,  his  various 
manifestations  to  his  disciples  after  the  resurrection  were  recalled, 
and,  as  a  crowning  glory,  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  com- 
memorated on  Whitsunday,  the  final  day  of  the  Easter  period. 
This  being  the  last  great  festival  of  the  year,  the  Sundays  following 
until  Advent  were  reckoned  therefrom. 

§  5.    The  Feasts  of  Epiplmny,  Christmas,  etc. 

After  the  union  of  Church  and  State  feasts  and  festivals  were 
Muitiniicaf  S^^atly  multiplied,  and  occupied  a  large  place  in  the  re- 
of  feasts  and  ligious  services.  This  was  in  obedience  to  a  law  of  the 
spiritual  life,  that  when  piety  is  waning  forms  and  cere- 
monies are  substituted,  and  become  more  highly  valued. 

The  feast  of  the  Epiphany  was  usually  observed  on  the  6th  of 

Oriffinai  fesf-  January,  to  commemorate  Christ's  manifestation  in  the 

vai  of  Epiph-   flesh.     At  first  this  included  his  advent  and  baptism, 

but  later,  when  Christmas  became  a  regularly  observed 

festival,  it  was  confined  to  his  baptism.     The  date  of  the  birth  of 

'  Probably  so  called  from  the  custom  of  newly  baptized  persons  appearing  in  white 
clothing  from  Easter  day  to  Whitsunday. 


EASTER   AND   OTHER   FESTIVALS.  50:^ 

Christ   it  is  impossible  to   determine.      Neither  in    the    Scripture 

record  nor  in  the  patristic  literature  are  found  sufficient   ^  ^    ,^x,  . ., 
^.  .  .  Date  of  Christ  s 

data  for  solving  this  problem.     The  birth  of  Christ  had   birth    u  n  - 
been  placed  on  the  25th  of  December  by  the  Church  of    ''^°^^- 
the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries;  but  the  reasons  for  this  decision  can- 
not be  satisfactorily  determined. 

There  is  equal  uncertainty  respecting  the  origin  of  the  Christmas 
festival.  Numerous  theories  have  been  advocated,  but  none  are 
universally  accepted.  Many  circumstances  point  to  its  origin  in  the 
attempted  christianization  of  various  heathen  festivals   _ 

■I  Supposed    on- 

which  were  celebrated  on  or  near  the  25th  of  December,  gin  of  the  fes- 
If  this  supposition  is  well  founded,  its  origin  must  have  ^^''^^' 
been  subsequent  to  the  recognition  of  Christianity^  by  the  State ;  since 
the  well  known  hostility  of  the  ante-Nicene  fathers  to  the  heathen 
festivals  would  have  absolutely  forbidden  a  syncretism  of  rites  so 
abhorrent.  But  the  general  decline  of  spiritual  life  during  the  fourth 
and  fifth  centuries,  and  the  reception  of  multitudes  into  the  Church 
who  were  moved  by  no  higher  motives  than  popularity  or  worldly 
interest,  prepared  the  Christian  Church  to  connect  with  lqw  type  of 
her  own  festivals  those  derived  from  the  heathen  cultus  spirituality, 
which  might  appear  to  have  symbolic  reference  to  the  life  and  work 
of  Christ.  Such  were  the  Saturnalia,  Sigillaria,  Juvenalia,  and 
Brumalia,  which  Avere  celebrated  in  the  month  of  December  to  com- 
memorate the  golden  age  of  freedom  and  equality,  also  in  honour  of 
the  unconquered  sun,  which  renewed  its  strength  at  the  winter  sol- 
stice. 

The  laboured  investigations  given  to  this  subject  have  quite  firmly 
established  the  following  conclusions: 

1.  Until  near  the  close  of  the  fourth  century  the  Nativity  was 
celebrated  in  the  Oriental  churches  in  connection  with       conclusions 
the    Epiphany,    or   on   January   6  —  this   custom   con-        reached, 
tinning  in  manj^  parts  of  the  East  for  a  century  or  more  later. 

2.  From  a  much  earlier  date  the  Nativity  was  celebrated  in  the 
Western  churches  on  December  25,  and  it  occupies  an  important 
place  in  the  most  ancient  liturgies.  It  is,  however,  impossible  to 
fix  the  date  when  the  change  from  January  6  to  December  25  was 
made. 

3.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  December  25  was 
quite  generally  recognised  as  the  day  for  the  celebration  of  the  Na- 
tivity, and  was  counted  among  the  most  important  festivals  of  the 
Chi'istian  year. 

4.  There  was  a  groAving  tendency  to  recognise  days  of  preparation 
foi  its  celebration,  as  Christmas  vigils,  and,  later,  four  advent  Sun- 


504        SACRAMENTS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  EARLY  CHURCH. 

days  in  the  West,  and  six  advent  Sundays  in  the  East,  as  means  for 
awakening  a  desire  for  the  coming  Redeemer.  Likewise,  the  season 
between  Christmas  and  Epiphany  was  afterward  filled  up  with  feast 
days,  each  designed  to  recall  the  memory  of  some  person  or  event 
connected  with  the  Nativity,  as  St.  Stephen's  day,  December  26; 
St.  John's  day  (the  evangelist),  December  27;  and  the  Innocents, 
December  28. 

When  Mariolatry  came  to  be  practised  by  the  Church  of  the  fifth 
Influence  of  ^nd  following  centuries,  there  gathered  round  this  cul- 
Marioiatry.  ^yg  a  great  number  of  festivals  in  honour  of  the  Virgin, 
commemorating  many  real  or  apocryphal  events  in  her  life.  This 
worship  assumed  such  prominence  in  the  Middle  Ages  as  almost  to 
supersede  that  paid  to  Christ  himself.  Also  the  multiplication  of 
saints,  and  especially  the  canonization  of  those  who  had  suffered 
martyrdom  during  the  trying  periods  of  the  history  of  the  Church, 
greatly  multiplied  the  number  of  feasts  and  festivals,  until  almost 
the  entire  year  was  devoted  to  some  event  in  the  lives  of  these  who 
received  the  homage  of  a  Church  from  which  the  earnest  spirit  of 
piety  had  largely  departed. 


BOOK  FOURTH, 


TUB 

Archeology  of  Christian  Life, 


THE 

AECH^OLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  CHRISTIAN   FAMILY. 


"  God  setteth  the  solitary  in  families  "  (Psa.  Ixviii,  6).     The  farn- 

ilv  is  the  initial  state,  or  contains  it  in  fferm.    It  is  often  „^     ,     ., 
•^  '  °  The   family   a 

made  the  Scripture  type  of  the  Church.  The  Church  type  of  the 
begins  with  the  first  true  worship  in  the  household.  ^^^^  ' 
The  love,  the  confidence,  the  tender  care  of  each  for  the  other,  which 
should  characterize  the  family,  are  often  used  to  illustrate  the  com- 
munity of  interest  felt  by  the  individual  members  of  the  Church, 
and  the  intimacy  of  the  relations  of  Christ  to  his  Church  (Rev.  xix, 
6-10;  xxi,  9). 

The  stability  and  purity  of  the  Church  and  State  have  been  pro- 
portionate to  the  popular  and  legal  estimate  of  the  sanctity  and  sta- 
bility of  the  marriage  relationship.  The  presence  of  Christ  at  the 
wedding  in  Cana  of  Galilee,  where  he  performed  his  Christ's  sane- 
first  miracle  to  contribute  to  the  rejoicings  of  the  occa-  **°'^- 
sion  (John  ii,  7,  seq.),  happily  illusti-ates  the  feeling  and  teaching  of 
Christianity  with  respect  to  marriage.  Christ  is  explicit  in  his 
inculcation  of  the  divine  origin  and  sacredness  of  this  institution.  It 
is  more  than  filial  duty;  it  is  unifying;  the  twain  become  one  through 
the  purity  and  intensity  of  a  mutual  love ;  common  interests  are  ne- 
cessitated by  common  affection  (Matt,  xix,  5,  6;  Eph.  v,  31).  The 
teaching  of  the  founder  of  the  new  religion,  that  only  one  ground  of 
one  single  ground  of  divorce  is  lawful,  alike  distin-  divorce, 
guished  his  followers  from  both  Jews  and  heathen  of  his  day.  He 
revolutionized  society  by  giving  to  the  family  a  sure  foundation, 
and  by  the  elevation  of  woman  to  be  the  true  companion  and  equal 
of  man. 

The  example  of  Peter  (Matt,  viii,  14;  Mark  i,  30;  Luke  iv,  38), 

and  the  express  teaching  of  New  Testament  writers  (1  Tim.  v,  14; 
33 


508  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

Ileb.  xiii,  4;  1  Tim.  iv,  3),  are  in  harmony  with  the  conduct  of 
Christ  respecting  the  sanctity  of  the  marriage  relation.  Moreover, 
paurs  teach-  the  counsel  of  Paul  to  the  Corinthian  Church,  evidently 
ing    I'lyu^o^i-  in  replv  to  their  request,  is  entirely  consistent  with  the 

ous  with  that  i    -^  i  '  "^ 

of  Christ.  general  doctrine  of  the  New  Testament.       He  guards 

marriage  so  carefully  that  even  to  those  who  are  joined  to  unbeliev- 
ers the  advice  is  given  not  to  disturb  their  relationships  except  by 
mutual  consent  and  for  mutual  good.' 

This  remained  the  teaching  of  the  Church  for  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years.     The  Pauline  doctrine  of  expediency  as  to 
the  apostouc      marriage,  and  of  the  sacred  duty  of  parties  who  have 
fathers.  entered  into  the  marriage  union  to  remain  faithful  to 

each  other,  is  clearly  recognised  by  the  apostolic  fathers  and  their 
immediate  followers.  In  the  epistle  to  Diognetus  the  author  speaks 
of  the  manners  of  the  Christians,  and  institutes  compari- 
sons and  contrasts  between  these  and  the  heathen  cus- 
toms. "  For  they  neither  inhabit  cities  of  their  own,  nor  employ  a 
peculiar  kind  of  speech,  nor  lead  a  life  which  is  marked  out  by  any 
singularity.  .  .  .  They  dwell  in  their  own  countries,  but  simply  as 
sojourners.  As  citizens  they  share  in  all  things  with  others,  and 
yet  endure  all  things  as  if  foreigners.  Every  foreign  land  is  to  them 
as  their  native  country,  and  every  land  of  their  birth  as  a  land  of 
strangers.  They  marry  as  do  all;  they  beget  children;  but  they  do 
not  destroy  their  offspring.  They  have  a  common  table,  but  not  a 
common  bed.  They  are  in  the  flesh,  but  they  do  not  live  after  the 
flesh." ' 

Likewise  in  the  epistle  to  Polycarp,  Ignatius  retains  the  Pauline 
ignatius's  ad-  spirit  in  recognising  the  doctrine  of  expediency  with  re- 
^''^^-  spect   to   marriage,  but  is  very  rigid  with  regard   to 

the  sacredness  of  this  relationship  when  once  entered  into,  and  with 
respect  to  the  duty  of  mutual  helpfulness.  "  Speak  to  my  sisters, 
that  they  love  the  Lord,  and  be  satisfied  with  their  husbands  both 
in  the  flesh  and  spirit.  In  like  manner,  also,  exhort  my  brethren,  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  they  love  their  wives,  even  as  the 
Lord  the  Church.  .  .  .  Let  all  things  be  done  to  the  honour  of  God." ' 

*  There  is  no  real  contradiction  in  the  teachings  of  1  Cor.  vii.     No  rigid  law  can  be 

imposed.  "I  have  no  commandment  of  the  Lord"  (ver.  25);  the  cir- 
the  law^    ^        cumstances  of  each  must  govern  each ;  "  the  present  distress  "  is  the 

key  to  the  whole  teaching ;  if  one  has  power  of  selfcontrol,  then,  in 
the  present  circumstances  of  peril,  celibacy  may  be  best ;  but  if  not,  owing  to  the 
fearful  temptations  of  Corinthian  society,  marriage  is  advisable.  But  when  marriage 
has  been  entered  into,  duty  is  plain  ;  no  separation,  even  for  a  season,  is  permitted 
except  by  mutual  consent.     The  rights  of  husbaud  and  wife  are  reciprocal. 

*  Ad  DiogneL,  c.  v.  ^  j^^  Polyc,  c.  v. 


THE   CHRISTIAN  FAMILY.  509 

In  his  apology  to  the  emperor  and  senate,  Justin  Martyr  is  no 
less  explicit  in  his  interpretation  and  enforcement  of 

/-.!••,  1  •  TT  •    11       1       n  11  Justin  Martyr. 

Christ  s  teachmgs.  He  especially  dwells  upon  the  law 
of  adultery  and  divorce,  as  given  by  Christ,  to  show  the  opinion 
and  practice  of  the  Christians.  This  is  so  opposed  to  the  law  of 
the  heathen  government  that  the  apologist  claims  that  he  knew 
of  men  and  women  of  sixty  or  seventy  years  of  age  who  have 
continued  pure  during  all  their  lives;  "and  I  boast  that  I  could  pro- 
duce such  from  every  race  of  men."  '  He  also  adds,  what  is  conso- 
nant with  the  Pauline  teaching,  "  But  whether  we  marry,  it  is  only 
that  we  may  bring  up  children;  or  whether  we  decline  marriage,  we 
live  continently." 

The  early  Romans  far  excelled  the  Greeks  in  their  respect  for  and 
honour  of  woman.     Yet  among  the  former  she  was  ab-  „     . , .         , 

^  Position  of 

solutely  destitute   of  rights   apart  from   her  husband,   woman  among 
while  with  the  latter  she  was  usually  the  veriest  slave.  omans. 

Even  in  the  earliest  and  purest  period  of  Roman  history,  when  mo- 
nogamy was  enjoined  on  the  husband,  and  the  infidelity  of  the  wife 
was  visited  with  heavy  penalties,  the  marital  authority  disregarded 
the  law  of  nature,  and  changed  moral  subjection  into  legal  slav- 
ery.* The  family  being  absolutely  guided  by  the  single  will  of  the 
head  of  the  household  (paterfamilias),  the  wife  and  child,  equally 
with  the  bullock  and  the  slave,  were  destitute  of  legal  without  legal 
rights.  To  rear  or  not  to  rear  the  child  which  the  wife  "gii'^s. 
had  borne  him  rested  with  the  free  Avill  of  the  householder.  In  the 
family  woman  necessarily  held  a  position  of  domestic  subjection.^ 
In  the  later  years  of  the  republic,  after  the  emancipa-  evIIs  under  the 
tion  of  woman  from  the  rigor  of  the  earlier  laws  had  ^^^^^  republic. 
been  partially  effected,  the  weakness  of  heathen  morality  was  shown 
in  the  fearful  relaxation  of  the  ties  of  domestic  life,  and  in  the  bitter 
complaints  of  the  sterner  moralists  against  the  evils  of  celibacy,  the 
shameless  extravagance  of  women,  the  prostitution  of  marriage  to  a 
matter  of  mercantile  speculation,  and  the  consequent  ease  and  fre- 
quency of  divorce.  Celibacy,  childlessness,  and  infanticide  had  be- 
come so  common  among  the  upper  classes  during  the  closing  period  of 
the  republic  that  the  Latin  stock  had  been  largely  diminished,  and 
final  extinction  was  threatened.  So  alarming  was  the  situation  that 
the  first  emperor,  in  order  to  save  the  nation,  regarded  it  as  necessary 

to  set  legal  bounds  to  luxury,  to  curtail  the  practice  of 

,,         ®,,.  ,  „,  Legal  restraints. 

adultery  and  divorce  by  measures  or  the  utmost  sever- 

'  Apol,  c.  XV. 

^  V.  Mommsen:  History  of  Rome,  New  York,  1870,  vol.  i,  pp.  49,  89. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  89,  90. 


510  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

ity,  and  to  offer  extraordinary  rewards  to  fathers  '  who  should  rear 
large  families.  But  the  disease  was  too  deepseated  for  radical 
cure;  it  could  only  be  held  in  check  by  the  vigorous  treatment  of 
a  master  mind  like  Julius  Caesar.  It  broke  out  anew  with  increased 
virulence  under  his  successors.  It  was  this  Roman  social 
world,  emasculated  of  its  earlier  and  robuster  virtues, 
inoculated  with  the  vices  of  Oriental  luxury,  and  weakened  by  long 
indulgence,  which  was  opposed  to  the  simple  teachings  of  Jesus  and 
his  apostles  respecting  the  sacredness  of  the  marital  relationship, 
the  equality  of  man  and  wife,  the  high  sanctity  of  maternity,  and 
the  solemn  duty  of  child  nurture. 

The  Christian  fathers  are  earnest  in  their  defence  of  the  purity  of 
Christian  morals,  in  contrast  with  this  abounding  corruption  of  hea- 
Tertuiiian's  thenism.  Tertullian  boldly  challenges  an  examination 
teacbing.  q{  ii^q  i[{q  ^mj  practices  of  the  Christians,  and  plainly 

upbraids  the  heathen  for  their  wicked  practice  of  infanticide.*  He 
as  ardently  defends  the  sanctity  of  marriage  against  the  opinions  of 
some  schools  of  the  Gnostics,  especially  Marcion.^  His  is  strictly 
the  Pauline  view.  He  neither  prescribes  abstinence  from  marriage, 
nor  does  he  insist  upon  it.  He  says  that  the  Creator  bestowed  his 
blessing  upon  the  institution  as  on  an  honourable  estate,  as  he  did 
upon  the  whole  of  his  creatures  for  good  and  wholesome  uses.*  The 
limitations  of  desire,  and  the  duty  of  fidelity  to  vows,  are  not  im- 
posed upon  woman  alone,  but  upon  both  man  and  wife  alike. 

A  like  contrast  is  seen  in  the  care  and  rights  of  childhood  under 
the  heathen  and  Christian  systems.     The  difference  of  teaching  and 

„   x^  J   practice  is  here  world-wide.  Scarcely  a  statute  condemna- 

Heathen     and    ^  ,        .  '^ 

Christian  views  tory  of  abortion  is  found  in  all  the  range  of  Grecian  or 
o  a  ortion.  Roman  jurisprudence.  If  regretted  and  condemned  at  all, 
no  check  was  given  to  an  almost  universal  practice  which  was  sap- 
ping the  energies  of  the  heathen  world.  While  recognised  as  wrong 
by  many  of  the  heathen  moralists,  it  scarcely  received  a  severe  cen- 
„  .  .  sure  in  all  their  writings.    So  also  with  infanticide.    The 

Opinions      re-  ,  o     _ 

spectinginfan-  practice  was  almost  universal  among  the  Greeks.  It 
finds  a  place  in  the  ideal  systems  of  the  best  philoso- 
phers and  thinkers;  it  is  permitted  by  the  statutes  of  Lycurgus  and 
Solon.  The  position  of  the  Greek  mother  encouraged  it.  The  Ro- 
man view  was  better,  although  its  practice  was  scarcely  improved. 
Tertullian  retorts  the  charges  of  immorality  upon  the  heathen  with 
withering  sarcasm.*     Probably  the  opposite  policies  of  Greece  and 

*  V.  Friedlander:   Sittengeschichte  Eoms,  Bd.  i,  s.  54. 

'  Ad  Nationes,  1.  i,  c.  15 ;  Apol.,  c.  ix.  ^  Contra  Mar.,  c.  29. 

*  Ibid.  5  ^^  jV(3[jj_^  i^  13 .  jipgi_^  Q  ix_ 


THE   CHRISTIAN  FAMILY.  511 

Rome — the  one  discouraging  and  the  other  encouraging  popu- 
lation— had  much  to  do  with  the  practice  of  exposure  and  infan- 
ticide.' So  deep  was  the  conviction  of  the  Roman  ineffectual  leg- 
legislators  that  these  evils  were  threatening  the  life  isiation. 
of  the  state,  that  the  absolute  right  of  the  father  over  his  off- 
spring had  early  been  so  far  limited  as  to  forbid  him  to  expose 
or  destroy  any  well  formed  child  until  it  had  completed  its  third 
year.*  Yet  Tertullian  plainly  intimates  that  these  laws  were 
easily  evaded,  and  had  little  power  to  correct  these  widely  preva- 
lent practices.^ 

f'rom  its  view  of  the  sanctity  of  human  life,  Christianity  placed 
a  guard  at  its  fountain-head.  In  contrast  with  the  widespread  in- 
difference of  the  heathen  moralists  respecting  abortion,  the  Church 
branded  it  as  a  crime  of  peculiar  enormity,  scarcely  inferior  to  mur- 
der itself.  Abortion,  infanticide,  and  the  exposure  of  children  were 
usually  placed  in  the  same  class  of  crimes;  they  were  Abortion  and 
constructive  murder.  By  conciliary  decree  the  guilty  infanticide. 
mother  was  excluded  from  the  sacraments,  at  first  till  the  day  of 
death,  but  this  was  afterward  relaxed  to  ten  and  seven  years  of 
penance.  As  we  examine  the  treatment  of  children  in  the  house- 
hold, the  same  contrast  between  heathen  and  Christian  methods  is 
manifest.  The  blessing  pronounced  by  Christ  upon  young  children, 
as  subjects  of  his  kingdom  (Matt,  xviii,  2-5;  Mark  x,  15;  Luke 
ix,  47),  continued  to  be  recognised  in  the  early  Church.  Biblical  teach- 
The  apostolic  injunction,  "  Fathers,  provoke  not  your  [rfj^'j^g^of'^  '^ 
children  unto  anger  lest  they  be  discouraged "  (Col.  children. 
iii,  21),  "but  bring  them  up  in  the  fear  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord"  (Eph.  vi,  4),  implied  a  sacred  obligation  to  properly  train 
the  child,  and  on  the  part  of  the  child  certain  rights  as  against  the 
parents.  This  was  in  direct  contrast  with  the  provisions  of  the 
early  Roman  law,  which  recognised  the  absolute  power  contrary  to  the 
of  the  father  to  dispose  of  his  child;  even  to  sell  it  into  Roman  law. 
slavery  or  to  deprive  it  of  life.  The  mitigation  of  the  severity  of  the 
earlier  law  by  the  more  humane  feelings  of  later  times,  and  by  the 
wisdom  of  the  great  Roman  jurists,^  had  moderated,  not  removed, 
this  contrast.  The  Christian  father  enjoined  obedience,  but  his 
power  over  his  offspring  was  limited  by  the  consideration  that  both 
alike  belonged  to  God.  The  few  pictures  of  the  Christian  house- 
hold drawn  by  the  ante-Nicene  writers  of  the  Church  are  beau- 

*  V.  Lecky:    Op.  cii,  vol.  ii,  p.  27. 

^  Ibid.,  pp.  22,  27.     V.  also  Minutius  Felix,  Athanagoras,  and  Lactantius. 

3  Ad  Nat,  i,  15. 

^  Milraan:  Latin  Christianity,  vol.  i,  pp.  496,  497. 


512  AKCH^OLOGY   OF  CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

tiful,  and  clearly  show  the  vast  superiority  of  the  Christian  over 
the  heathen  family.  Tertullian  exclaims,  "  What  a  union  is  that 
of  two  believers  who  have  one  hope,  one  rule  of  life,  and  one  serv- 
Pictures  of  ice!  .  .  .  In  alternate  song  echo  psalms  and  hj^mns;  they 
family  liie.  vie  with  each  other  who  best  shall  praise  their  God. 
When  Christ  sees  such  things,  he  rejoices.  To  these  he  sends  his 
own  peace.  Where  two  are,  there  also  is  he.  Where  he  is,  there 
the  evil  one  is  not." '  And  Clement  of  Alexandria  affirms,  "  The 
children  glory  in  their  mother,  the  husband  in  his  wife,  and  she  in 
them,  and  all  in  God." 

Since  the  opinion  of  the  Church  of  the  first  three  centuries 
was  so  pronounced  respecting  the  sanctity  of  marriage  and  of  the 
family,  it  might  be  presumed  that  it  had  careful  oversight  of  the 
parties  proposing  marriage,  and  prescribed  the  rules 
bad  oversight  of  its  celebration.  While  the  Church  had  no  legal 
of  marriages,  jm-isdiction  over  marriage  until  the  time  of  Justin- 
ian, the  Christians  had  nevertheless  accompanied  it  with  solemn 
religious  ceremonies,  and  hallowed  it  by  the  benediction  of  the 
community  of  believers.  The  Pauline  doctrine,  not  to  be  "  un- 
equally yoked  together  with  unbelievers  "  (2  Cor.  vi,  14),  was  long 
regarded  as  of  binding  force.  Tertullian  is  clear  in  his  teachings 
on  this  point.  Cyprian  regards  the  directions  of  Paul  as  wise  and 
obligatory.  The  post-Nicene  theologians,  as  Jerome,  Ambrose, 
Augustine,  and  others,  are  positive  and  earnest  in  warning  against 
these  entangling  alliances,  while  the  conciliary  decisions  are  firm  and 
unyielding.  The  Church  also  prescribed  the  limits  of  affinity  or 
.^  ^,.       consansjuinitv  within  which  lawful   wedlock  was   for- 

Prescribedlim-       ... 

Its  of  consan-  bidden.  The  decisions  of  some  of  the  councils  are  full 
guinity.  ^^^  explicit,  and  persons  who  violate  these  rules  are 

declared  guilty  of  incest,  and  liable  to  severe  ecclesiastical  penal- 
ties. Likewise  clandestine  marriages  are  forbidden.  Ignatius  says, 
"  But  it  becomes  both  men  and  women  who  marry  to  form  their 
union  with  the  approval  of  the  bishop,  that  their  marriage  may  be 
according  to  God,  and  not  after  their  own  lusts." "  Those  were 
days  of  trial  and  danger,  and  the  propriety  and  duty  of  taking  ad- 
vice of  the  church  officers  respecting  this  most  sacred  relation  are 
frequently  urged  by  the  Christian  writers  both  before  and  after 
Constantine.^  The  necessity  of  obtaining  the  consent  of  parents  to 
the  marriage  of  children  under  lawful  age  is  another  evidence  of 
the  care  with  which  the  relationship  was  guarded,  and  the  purity 
of  the  Church  maintained. 

'  Ad  Uxor.,  xi,  8,  9.  "  Ad  Polyc.  c.  v. 

^  V.  Tertullian:  Ad  Uxor.,  1.  xi,  c.  2. 


THE   CHRISTIAN   FAMILY.  513 

The  plain  and  wholesome  teaching  of  the  New  Testament,  and  of 
most  of  the  Christian  fathers  of  the  first  three  centuries  Family  reia- 
respecting  marriage  and  the  family  relation,  was  after-  gned'^^by^^tvTO 
wards  weakened  by  two  principles  whose  baneful  influ-  principles. 
ence  was  long  felt  in  both  East  and  West:  asceticism  and  mo- 
nasticism. 

Asceticism  has  pertained  to  every  religion,  and  to  every  stage  of 
society.  It  was  found  in  heathen  Rome.  Whether  this  practice 
among  the  Romans  is  to  be  attributed  to  a  feeling  of  disgust,  on 
the  part  of  a  few  nobler  minds,  with  the  prevailing  impurity,  to  the 
rise  of  Neoplatonism  and  the  revival  of  the  Pythagorean  philosophy, 
to  the  Oriental  religions,  or  to  the  unconscious  yet  pow-  possible  origin 
erful  influence  of  Christianity,  may  not  be  fully  deter-  °'  Asceticism. 
mined.  Probably  each  and  all  these  forces  were  in  operation  to 
produce  the  effect.  Certainly  the  doctrine  of  both  Neoplatonism 
and  Pythagoreanism,  that  matter  was  essentially  evil,  when  carried 
to  its  logical  result  would  lead  its  votaries  to  regard  the  human 
body,  with  its  appetites  and  passions,  as  a  source  of  evil,  and  the 
indulgence  of  sensuous  desires  as  incompatible  with  loftiest  virtue. 
The  practical  eflPect  of  the  theory  upon  the  heathen  world  in  cor- 
recting the  prevalent  impurity  was,  however,  but  slight.  Never- 
theless, if  the  records  are  to  be  trusted,  it  is  noteworthy  that  some 
most  conspicuous  public  characters  were  plainly  influenced  by  this 
philosophy.  The  celibate  life  of  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  the  abstemi- 
ousness of  Zenobia,  the  maintenance  of  her  virginity  by  Heathen  exam- 
the  pagan  wife,  Hypatia,  the  continence  of  Julian  after  p'*^^- 
the  early  loss  of  his  wife,  are  clear  indications  of  the  influence  of  the 
Neoplatonic  teaching,  as  well  as  of  a  desire  for  the  reformation  of 
paganism,  which  the  superior  morality  of  Christianity  had  provoked. 
To  what  degree  the  severe  asceticism  of  the  Indian  religions  affected 
the  western  mind,  and  how  far  the  Buddhist  monasticism  was  the 
suggestion  and  furnished  the  type  of  the  Christian  orders  of  monks, 
are  debated  questions.  It  can,  however,  hardly  be  doubted  that 
this  ancient  and  widely  prevalent  religion  was  known  to  the  West, 
while  the  striking  similarity  of  the  discipline  of  the  Buddhistic 
and  Christian  monks  suggests  a  common  origin,  or  at  least  similar 
conditions. 

But  the  perversion  of  the  teachings  of  Christianity,  which  incul- 
cated the  prime  duty  of  purity,  was  most  powerful  to  effect  the 
change  of  opinion  with  reference  to  the  married  state.  The  con- 
flict of  the  Church  with  the  social  evil  which  was  threatening  the 
life  of  the  empire  had  been  stubborn  and  persistent.  From  the 
first  the  words  of  Paul  as  to  the  lawfulness  of  a  celibate  life  had 


514  ARCHEOLOGY  OF   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

bet'U  influential,  and  a  condition  of  continence  had  received  high 
Causes  praise  from  the  Christian  fathers.     The  declining  piety 

strenRthening     ^f  ^j-^g  third  centiirv,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  merit  of 

It  in  the  *"  ,    .      .        , 

Church.  good  works,  which  had  its  origin  m  the  penitential  sys- 

tem of  the  age  of  Cyprian,  greatly  strengthened  the  tendency  to 
asceticism.  An  unnatural  and  unscriptural  view  of  chastity  induced 
the  opinion  that  the  married  state  was  unfavorable  to  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  highest  perfection,  and  that  immaculate  purity  could  be 
attained  only  in  the  condition  of  celibacy  or  virginity,  or  by  the 
practice  of  the  most  rigid  abstinence. 

Nevertheless,  the  frequent  legislation,  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical, 
shows  how  difficult  it  was  to  enforce  the  condition  of  celibacy  and 
chastity,  even  in  case  of  those  who  had  taken  upon  themselves  the 
most  solemn  vows.  The  law  of  Jovian,  A.  D.  364,  denouncing  the 
attempt  to  marry  a  nun  as  a  capital  crime,  was  wholly  ineffectual  to 
prevent  the  scandal.  Yet  the  opinion  of  the  Church  respecting  the 
sacredness  of  the  marriage  relation  is  shown  from  the  fact  that  while 
the  synod  of  Rome,  A.  D.  384,  declared  the  union  of  men  with  nuns 
who  had  taken  vows  of  celibacy  to  be  adultery,  it  did  not  venture 
to  order  their  separation  from  their  husbands.  In  spite  of  Augus- 
tine's commendation  of  virginity,  and  his  favorable  opinion  of  celib- 
acy, he  regards  the  marriage  of  nuns  as  binding,  and  deprecates  the 
evil  results  of  separating  man  and  wife  under  such  circumstances.  A 
careful  examination  of  this  legislation  will  show  that  the  efforts  to 
declare  such  marriages  invalid  completely  failed;  and  that  in  the 
fifth  century  there  was  a  tendency  to  judge  these  marriages  more 
tenderly,  and  not  to  interfere  with  them.' 

As  asceticism  made  war  against  one  of  the  three  great  foes  of  the 

.  human  soul,  the  flesh,  so  monasticism  proposed  to  flee 

versus  the         from  another,  the  world.    Men  Avithdrew  from  society  in 

order  to  concentrate  their  entire  energies  upon  the  puri- 
fication of  the  spirit  through  watching,  fasting,  and  prayer.  Monas- 
Monasticism  ticism  ignored  the  social  duties  and  the  holy  work  of 
t'ersws    the       elevating  mankind  by  personal  contact  and  influence,  and 

was  at  heart  a  system  of  absolute  spiritual  selfishness. 
The  two  principles  lying  at  the  foundation  of  monasticism,  celibacy 
and  asceticism,  were  alike  hostile  to  the  married  state,  pernicious  to 
the  family,  and  consequently  hurtful  to  the  truest  interests  of  so- 
ciety. The  fuller  discussion  of  their  influence  upon  Christian 
morality  does  not  fall  within  the  plan  of  our  inquiry.  It  need  only 
be  added  that  by  many  of  the  post-Nicene  writers  celibacy  and 
absolute  abstinence  from  carnal  pleasures  are  regarded  as  the 
'  Lea:  Hist  of  Sacerdotal  CtUbacy,  Boston,  1884,  pp.  103-105. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  FAMILY.  515 

highest  virtues;  marriage  is  a  necessary  evil  entailed  by  the  fall, 
which  must  be  endured  by  those  content  with  low  at-  cgjjj,agy  and 
tainments  in  moral  purity;  the  family  is  no  longer  the  virginity  the 
most  sacred  institution  of  God;  the  position  of  the  wife 
and  mother  is  almost  infinitely  below  that  of  her  upon  whom  rest 
the  vows  of  perpetual  virginity.* 

Thus  the  powerful  protest  against  the  abounding  impurity  led 
the  Church  to  the  other  extreme  of  severity.  What  was  at  first 
regarded  in  the  light  of  a  duty,  plainly  flowing  from  principles 
enunciated  by  Christ  and  his  apostles,  was  exalted  to  the  position 
of  the  most  meritorious  work  for  the  attainment  of  salvation.  The 
low  standard  of  piety,  and  the  perturbed  state  of  society  consequent 
upon  the  rivalries  of  the  East  and  West,  and  upon  the  g^d  consequen- 
tribal  migrations,  contributed  still  further  to  these  ces. 
unhappy  results.  But  amid  all  the  influences  unfavourable  to  the 
family  life  the  Church  was  careful  to  guard  its  sanctity;  it  placed 
the  family  on  a  lower  plane  only  by  attributing  to  a  celibate  and 
virgin  state  a  loftier  dignity. 

'  See  especially  the  treatises  on  virp;inity  by  several  of  the  most  influential  and 
able  post-Nicene  theologians — Basil,  Ambrose,  Chrysostom,  Augustine,  and  others. 
The  language  of  Jerome,  the  great  promoter  of  monasticism  in  the  West,  is  often 
most  extravagant  in  praise  of  virginity  and  a  recluse  life,  and  contemptuous  when 
he  refers  to  the  married  state. 


616  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  11. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  SLAVERY. 

"  Render  therefore  unto  Ctesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's;  and 

unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's"  (Matt,  xxii,  21).     "Let  every 

soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers.     For  there  is  no  power  but 

of  God:  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God.  .  .  .  For  he  is  the 

minister  of  God  to  thee  for  good"  (Rom,  xiii,  1-4).     In  these  pas- 

Reiations     of  sages  are  expressed  the  relations  of  the  early  Church  to 

the  Church  to   ^j^     orovemment  under  which  its  members  then  lived. 

civil     govern-  =>  ...,.., 

ment.  The  duty  of  obedience  to  civil  authority  is  here  plainly 

inculcated.  The  qualifying  teaching  of  Peter  has  reference  to  those 
cases  where  men  are  unable  to  submit  to  civil  injunctions,  and  pre- 
fer to  suffer  for  conscience'  sake,  or  where  government  has  so  far 
forgotten  the  reason  of  its  institution  as  to  be  no  longer  a  terror  to 
evil  doers  or  a  praise  to  the  good.  The  Christian  Church  pi-oposed  no 
revolution  in  the  civil  order,  but  aimed  to  permeate  society  with  a 
new  principle  which  would  effect  all  needed  reforms. 

new  aw.  ^pj^^  declaration  of  Christ,  "My  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world  "  (John  xviii,  36),  embodied  the  true  spirit  of  the  Church  in 
relation  to  secular  authority.  The  existing  forms  were  accepted; 
the  realm  where  Christ  was  to  reign  was  the  human  spirit;  the  law 
of  his  government  was  the  law  of  love.  This  law  being  supreme 
over  all  alike  who  should  become  subjects  of  his  kingdom,  an  equal- 
ity of  privilege  was  recognised  in  the  midst  of  the  most  diverse 
social  conditions.  It  is  the  silent  yet  powerful  operation  of  this 
law  which  is  to  be  considered  in  estimating  the  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity upon  Roman  institutions  and  life. 

At  the  time  of  the  Advent  slavery  was  an  institution  recognised 
Slavery  a  fixed  ^^^  regulated  by  the  Roman  law ;  slaves  were  found  in 
institution.  every  province  of  the  vast  empire.  This  unfortunate 
class  had  at  first  been  chiefly  captives  taken  in  war;  at  a  later 
period,  when  the  original  source  of  supply  had  largely  ceased,  they 
were  propagated  by  means  of  numerous  marriages  encouraged  by 
Condition  of  the  owners.  They  were  the  property  of  the  masters;  the 
the  slave.  childi-en  could  be  sold  or  alienated  like  other  property. 

While  policy  or  feelings  of  humanity  might  lead  masters  to  miti- 
gate the  severities  of  bondage,  and  political  or  social  considerations 


THE   CHURCH  AND   SLAVERY.  517 

frequently  induced  the  manumission  of  slaves,  they  were,  neverthe- 
less, at  the  mercy  of  every  caprice  and  passion  of  the  owner.  Nor 
does  the  fact  that  self-interest  often  led  the  great  families  to  en- 
courage in  their  slaves  the  cultivation  of  the  practical  and  fine  arts,' 
and  even  to  assist  some  to  rise  to  the  position  of  teachers,  counsel- 
lors, and  companions,  change  the  essential  features  of  the  system. 
A  freedman  could  not  be  the  equal  of  the  freeborn;  by  him  no  civil 
or  military  honor  was  attainable;  his  sons  were  excluded  from  the 
senate;  they  were  tainted  with  servility  to  the  third  and  fourth 
generations."  While  it  is  impossible  to  determine  the  number  of 
slaves  in  the  empire,  or  even  their  proportion  to  the  entire  popula- 
tion, it  is  universally  conceded  that  their  condition  was  fearfully 
degraded,  and  that  they  were  a  constant  threat  to  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  the  state. 

Christianity  recognised  this,  as  it  did  other  institutions  of  the 
empire.     No    attempt    was    made   for    its    immediate   „^  ,  ,.    .,   ,., 

^  .   .  ^  .  ,    .  .  .        Christianity  did 

abolition.  A  new  and  despised  religion,  gathering  its  not  attempt  di- 
votaries  at  first,  for  the  most  part,  from  the  humble,  '"^'^^  abolition, 
and  often  from  the  servile  class,  was  not  in  position  to  make  open 
war  upon  an  institution  hoary  with  age  and  of  well  nigh  universal 
prevalence.  The  Scripture  teaching  is  that  liberty  is  of  the  Spirit; 
that  the  relations  of  master  and  slave  are  only  accidental,  not 
essential;  that  a  slave  can  be  the  truest  freeman  through  the  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  shall  make  him  free.  The  teaching  of  Scripture 
and  of  the  early  Christian  fathers  is  usually  that  of  submission  and 
obedience  to  the  existing  laws.  The  expectation  of  the  early  reap- 
pearing of  Christ  to  establish  his  kingdom  among  men,  which  from 
time  to  time  finds  expression  in  the  writings  of  the  apostles  and  early 
fathers,  probably  led  the  early  Church  to  regard  social  distinctions 
as  of  slight  importance.  Since  every  disciple  of  Christ  was  a  citizen 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  a  kingdom  different  from,  and  exalted 
far  above,  all  earthly  governments,  the  Church  renounced  all  claim 
to  earthly  rulership,  and  could  remain  indifferent  toward  exist- 
ing social  distinctions.  The  care  of  the  Church  was  for  the  relief 
of  the  immediate  wants  of  its  members.  The  motive  to  the  alle- 
viation of  hardships  did  not  seem  to  be  like  that  of  the  philoso- 
phers of  the  Stoic  schools,  namely,  to  introduce  into  society  a  more 
humane  feeling;  but  the  conviction  of  the  supernatural  freedom  and 
equality  to  which  men  were  invited  found  expression  among  the 
early  Churches  only  in  the  religious  life  and  intercourse.  This  spir- 
itual freedom  and  equality  pertained  to  the  life  of  fellowship  which 

'  V.  Friedlander :   Sittengeschichte  Roma,  BA.Wi,  ss.  258,  259. 

^  Gibbon:  Decline  and  Fall,  etc.,  Harper's  edition,  New  York,  1880,  vol.  i,  p.  51. 


518  ARCHEOLOGY  OF   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

was  experienced  by  Christians  themselves,  without  directly  influ- 
encing political  action  or  instituting  means  for  the  early  abolition 
of  slavery.  Yet  this  was  by  no  means  the  whole  work  of  the 
Christian  Church. 

"  The  treatment  of  slaves  by  their  Christian  masters,  and  the 

.    ,   relation  of  Christian  slaves  to  their  masters,  underwent 
But  recognised  _  _  ' 

all  as  equal  in  an  immediate  change.  .  .  .  As  members  of  the  Church 
the  Gospe  .  t\iQYe  was  no  difference  between  them.  They  came  to 
the  same  house  of  God,  acknowledged  one  Lord,  prayed  and  sang 
together,  ate  of  the  same  bread,  and  drank  from  the  same  cup.  .  .  . 
The  Church,  it  is  true,  would  not  receive  a  slave  without  a  certificate 
of  good  conduct  from  his  Christian  master,  but  when  this  condition 
was  complied  with  he  became  a  full  member  without  any  limita- 
tions. He  Avas  even  eligible  to  its  oftices,  not  excej^ting  that  of 
bishop.  Not  infrequently  it  occurred  that  a  slave  was  an  elder  in 
the  same  church  of  which  his  master  was  only  a  member. 

"  The  Church  bestowed  labor  on  both  slaves  and  masters.  .  .  .  Ac- 
it  cared  for  tbe  cording  to  pagan  conceptions  slaves  were  incapable  of 
slaves.  morality.     The  Church  trained   them  for   virtue,   and 

not  unsuccessfully.  There  were  many  slaves  who,  in  extremely 
difficult  circumstances,  attested  the  reality  of  their  Christian  life 
with  fidelity  and  great  endurance.  Even  among  the  martyrs  there 
was  an  unbroken  line  of  slaves.  The  fairest  crown  fell  on  them,  as 
well  as  to  the  free.  .  .  .  Harsh  treatment  of  slaves  was  considered  suf- 
ficient ground  for  excommunication.  ,  .  .  The  Church  would  not  min- 
ister to  the  merely  natural  desires  of  the  slaves  for  liberty.  Yet  it 
deemed  it  a  praiseworthy  act  for  a  master  to  emancipate  a  slave. 
Emancipation  ^^  §^^^^7  recognised  emancipation  as  a  work  of  Christian 
encouraged  love,  and  mauumissions  often  occurred.  .  .  .  After  the 
prac  ise  .  ^[^[y^  century,  it  was  customary  to  perform  the  act  of 
manumission  in  the  Church,  before  the  priest  and  the  congregation. 
The  master  led  his  slave  by  the  hand  to  the  altar;  there  the  deed 
of  emancipation  was  read  aloud,  and  at  the  close  the  jiriest  j^ro- 
nounced  the  benediction."  * 

Yet  it  is  unhistoric  to  attribute  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  the 
rehabilitation  of  manual  labour  exclusively  to  Christianity.  The 
Roman  Stoics,  like  other  philosophers  before  them,  had  taught  the 
duty  of  humanity  to  slaves,  and  had  announced  with  clearness  the 
principle  that  bondage  and  freedom  were  only  accidents  of  society, 

'  Uhlhorn  :  Confid  of  ChrhtianiUi  with  Heathenism^  pp.  184-188.  v.  also  Apology 
of  Aristides,  Syriac,  chap,  xv  :  "  If  one  or  other  of  them  (Christians)  have  bondmen 
and  bondwomen  or  children,  through  love  toward  them  they  persuade  them  to  become 
Christians,  and  when  they  have  done  so,  they  call  them  brethren  without  distinction." 
Ante-Nicene  Fathers,  vol.  ix.     Christian  Literature  Co.,  1897. 


THE   CHURCH   AND   SLAVERY.  519 

that  the  master  may  be  a  bondman  to  his  vices,  while  the  slave  may 
be  the  noblest  freeman  through  his  virtues.  In  this  respect  the 
teaching  of  Stoicism  was  very  like  that  of  Christianity.  Some  em- 
perors, too — notably  Hadrian,  the  Antonines,  and  Alexander  Seve- 
rus — through  a  sentiment  of  sympathy,  or  moved  by  fear,  promul- 
gated laws  restricting  the  power  of  the  master,  and  protecting  the 
slaves  from  many  cruel  and  harmful  practices  which  had  long 
disgraced  Roman  civilization.  Moreover,  these  maxims  of  the 
Stoics,  relative  to  the  essential  equality  of  man,  had  powerfully  in- 
fluenced the  Roman  jurisprudence,  and  led  to  a  consequent  amelio- 
ration of  the  condition  of  the  servile  classes.' 

Nor  can  it  be  claimed  that  the  legislation  of  the  Christian  emper- 
ors of  the  fourth  century,  respecting  the  condition  and  rights  of 
slaves,  was  a  very  great  advance  upon  that  of  the  heathen  emperors 
of  the  third.  By  the  abolition  of  the  punishment  of  crucifixion  the 
slaves  had  gained,  since  they  had  been  chiefly  exposed  to  this  dread- 
ful penalty;  but  still  more  humane  and  wide-reaching  was  the  enact- 
ment of  the  statute  forbidding  the  separation  of  their  families." 
The  legislation  of  Justinian  was,  however,  almost  revolutionary. 
The  two  great  disabilities  under  which  the  slave  population  had 
suffered  for  so  many  centuries,  namely,  the  po^ver  of  the  master  to 
subject  the  slave  to  torture,  and  the  non-recognition  of  the  legality 
of  slave  marriage,  were  entirely  removed.  This  may  be  regarded 
as  the  most  important  legislative  contribution  to  the  abolition  of  sla- 
very which  Avas  made  by  the  Christian  emperors  prior  to  the  seventh 
century.  To  this  may  be  added  the  removal  of  all  restrictions  to 
the  manumission  of  slaves,  which  had  hitherto  prevented  the  action 
prompted  by  the  humane  impulses  of  noble  men,  both  pagan  and 
Christian. 

The  influence  of  the  moral  type,  which  Christianity  encouraged, 
has  been  strongly  emphasized  by  some  writers  on  the  relations  of 
Christianity  to  slavery.^  The  qualities  neglected  or  despised  by  the 
heathen  woi'ld  were,  under  the  Christian  system,  crowned  as  royal 
virtues.  Humility  is  often  commanded  by  Christ,  and  he  who 
would  be  great  in  his  kingdom  is  instructed  to  become  the  servant 
of  all.  Service,  helpfulness,  charity,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  pa- 
tience, goodness,  forgiveness,  non-resistance,  are  the  graces  which 
especially  adorn  the  Christian  character.  To  what  extent  this  view 
of  the  perfection  of  human  character  brought  the  Christian  Church 
into  closer  relationships  to  the  large  class  of  Roman  slaves  is  wor- 

'  Tertullian,  in  Apologeticus,  speaks  of  these  changes,  and  attributes  them  to  a  se- 
cret working  of  nature,  tending  toward  Christianity,  not  by  Christianity. 

2  V.  Lecky:    Op.  cit,  vol.  ii,  pp.  63,  64.  '  Lecky:   Op.  ciL,  vol.  ii,  pp.  68,  69. 


520  ARCHAEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

thy  of  most  thoughtful  consideration;  doubtless  it  was  one  import- 
ant motive  to  their  care,  and  to  the  amelioration  of  their  condition. 

Another  notable  service  rendered  by  the  Church  of  the  fourth  and 
fifth  centuries  was  her  strong  and  persistent  opposition  to  the  prev- 
alent luxury.  The  discourses  of  the  great  preachers  and  monks 
abound  in  warnings  against  the  destroying  vices,  against  excess  in 
dress,  food,  and  equipage,  and  also  very  especially  against  immoral 
and  lustful  callings,  as  those  of  actors,  gladiators,  panders,  etc. 
This  check  placed  upon  luxury  and  extravagance  had  the  direct 
effect  to  decrease  the  demand  for  the  labour  of  slaves,  and  thereby 
to  contribute  to  their  more  rapid  manumission.' 

While  the  relation  of  Christianity  to  Roman  slaveiy  has  been  vig- 
orously discussed,'  and  the  opinions  of  investigators  have  by  no 
means  been  accordant,  we  see  from  the  spirit  of  Christ's  teaching, 
as  well  as  from  abundant  testimony  gathered  from  the  writings  of 
the  Christian  fathers,  that  in  the  early  Church  no  distinction  of 

,.   ,,,     privilege   between    master   and   slave   was   recognised. 
Slaves  eligible    ^  *'  .  '^ 

to  office  in  the  Slaves  were  freely  admitted  to  the  sacraments,  and  were 

Church.  eligible  to  all  the  ecclesiastical  offices.     Calixtus  was  a 

Roman  slave.  The  Council  of  Orleans,  in  549  A.  D.,  was  compelled 
to  somewhat  modify  the  earlier  requirements  that  the  Christian  mas- 
ter must  liberate  his  slaves,  by  allowing  the  master  to  obey  the  laws  ^ 

'  Allard:    Op.  cit,  pp.  409-473. 

"^  The  treatise  of  Wallon:  Histoire  de  Vesdavage,  2d  ed.,  Paris,  1879;  and  of  Allard: 
Les  esdaves  Ohret.,  Paris,  1876,  have  used  the  monumental  evidence  but  very  spar- 
ingly. The  same  want  is  felt  in  Zahn:  Sdaverei  u.  C hristenthum,  Heidelb.,  1879; 
Lechler:  Sdaverei  u.  C hristenthum,  Leipzig,  1877-78,  and  in  nearly  every  other  dis- 
cussion. Allard  is  most  in  sympathy  with  the  spirit  of  the  epigraphic  teaching,  and 
gives  some  valuable  suggestions. 

3  The  history  of  slavery  in  the  United  States  of  America  furnishes  some  parallels 
to  illustrate  the  difficulty  of  making  the  teaching  of  the  Church  respecting  this  insti- 
tution effective  and  practical  under  the  Roman  government.  The  American 
Churches  frequently  protested  against  slavery,  but  the  laws  enacted  by  the  different 
slave  States  made  this  protest  nugatory.  The  desired  instruction  was  forbidden  to 
slaves  by  penal  statutes.  May  not  this  be  a  sufficient  answer  to  the  excessive 
statements  of  that  school  of  (critics  to  which  M.  Havet  belongs?  "  There  is  no  more 
stupendous  example  of  frauds,  which,  nevertheless,  can  make  for  themselves  believ- 
ers, than  the  persistent  attempt  to  give  to  Christianity  and  the  Church  the  honour  of 
the  abolition  of  slavery  "  (in  the  Roman  Empire),  v.  Le  Christianisme  et  les  origines, 
t.  i,  Introduction,  p.  xxi.  This  judgment  respecting  the  early  Church,  in  effecting 
the  emancipation  of  slaves  under  the  Roman  Empire,  is  paralleled  by  the  statements 
of  a  class  of  writers  in  our  day  respecting  the  attitude  of  the  American  Churches 
toward  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  United  States.  Both  alike  are  defective  and 
unhistoric.  The  wiser  and  more  humane  policy  of  Hadrian  and  the  Antonines  was 
probably  largely  independent  of  Cliristianity.  The  influence  of  Christianity  was 
exerted  without  ostentation.     Even  Gibbon  recognises  its  later  power. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  SLAVERY.  521 

respecting  the  slave,  but  forbade  him  to  exact  of  the  slave  any  ser- 
vice incompatible  with  his  new  dignity  as  a  member  of  the  Church, 
Female  slaves  often  exercised  the  office  of  deaconesses.' 

The  study  of  monuments,  in  all  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire,  fur- 
nishes the  most  emphatic  comment  and  completest  cor-  Monuments 
roboration  of  the  statements  of  the  Christian  fathers.  written "ec- 
These  help  more  fully  to  comprehend  the  grandeur  of  ords. 
that  revolution  already  achieved  in  the  minds  of  the  Christians,  long 
before  its  effects  became  visible  in  the  society  of  the  state.''  If  we 
enter  a  pagan  columbarmm,  where  the  rich  families  de-  Apagancoium- 
posited  the  ashes  of  their  slaves  and  freedmen,  all  the  barium. 
distinctions  of  society  and  class  are  here  continued.  It  would  seem 
that  even  the  grave  did  not  erase  the  stigma  attaching  to  the  servile 
classes.  The  name,  employment,  relation,  etc.,  of  the  slave  is  per- 
petuated upon  the  cinerary  urns.  Only  the  absence  of  the  master 
distinguishes  this  house  of  the  dead  from  the  palace  of  the  living. 

How  marked  the  contrast  in  a  Christian  catacomb  !  The  claim  of 
Lactantius  is  fully  iustified — "With  us  there  is  no  dis-   ,,    _,.   .    ,. 

*'.  ■'  No   distinction 

tinction  between  rich  and  poor,  between  bond  and  free."  ^  among  the 
Nothing  tells  us  whether  a  tomb  contains  the  remains  christian  dead, 
of  the  servile  or  of  the  free.  Every  thing  is  commingled.''  Upon  one 
is  seen  the  evidence  of  noble  birth,  upon  another  the  indication  of 
the  labourer's  avocation;  here  is  the  tomb  of  the  maiden,  there  of 
the  widow,  and  in  the  midst  of  all  is  the  faithful  pastor  and  bishop 
of  their  souls. 

"  During  the  thirty  years  in  which  I  have  studied  their  cemeter- 
ies I  have  found  no  more  than  a  solitary  inscription  from  Testimony  ot 
which  the  condition  of  a  freedman  could  be  inferred."  ^  epigrapwsts. 
"  In  the  very  considerable  number  of  Christian  inscriptions  which 
we  examined,  I  have  not  met  more  than  two  tituli  bearing  the  men- 
tion of  servus  or  libertus,  except  as  an  appellation  of  fidelity  toward 
God."*  "In  the  new  Christian  community  freedmen  de  Rossi's  opin- 
and  slaves  were  brethren,  and  together  served  the  same  ^°°- 
God.  Among  the  faithful  of  the  Roman  Church  the  spirit  of  fra- 
ternity triumphed  over  the  proud  arrogance  with  which  the  insti- 
tutions of  the  republic  and  of  the  empire  were  infected.  Of  this 
most  eloquent  testimony  is  found  in  the  silence  which  is  observed 

>  Ancilla  Dei  is  the  title  frequently  met  on  the  tombs  of  Christian  women. 

"^  Allard:  Les  esclaves  Chretienes,  p.  235.  ^  j)iy^  Inst.,  v,  17. 

^  Allard:  op.  cit,  pp.  236,  237.  *  Marangoni:  Acta  S.  Victorini,  p.  130. 

^  Le  Blaut:  Inscript.  chret.  de  la  Gaul,  t.  i,  p.  119.  The  word  titulus  was  applied 
to  an  ecclesiastical  division  or  district  of  the  city.  Each  one  of  the  tituli  seems  to 
have  had  an  extra-mural  cemetery  under  its  care,  where  its  dead  were  interred. 


522  ARCHEOLOGY  OF   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

respecting  the  social  condition  of  the  deceased  in  the  so  many  thou- 
sands of  epitaphs  discovered  in  the  catacombs.  Were  they  slaves  ? 
Froedmeu  ?  These  say  nothing  about  it.  I  have  never  met  the 
mention,  as  an  undoubted  fact,  of  one  serviis  ;  very  rarely,  and  this 
exceptional,  of  a  freedman;  while  we  could  not  read  ten  pagan  epi- 
taphs of  the  same  period  without  finding  these  designations  of  slaves 
and  freedmen."  '  The  silence  of  the  monuments  is  the  most  power- 
ful comment  on  the  statement  of  Lucian  with  respect  to  the  belief 
of  the  Christians:  "Their  lawgiver  has  persuaded  the  Christians 
that  thev  are  all  brothers."  '^  "  This  law  was  nowhere  written  or 
traditional;  it  was  the  spontaneous  effect  of  the  religious  doctrines 
of  the  new  society,  which  are  reflected  in  its  early  epigraphy  as  in  a 
mirror."  ^ 

The  whole  number  of  ancient  Christian  inscriptions  in  which 
Libertus  sei-  slaves  are  mentioned  is  only  about  thirty,  and  about  the 
dommet.  same   number   in   which  the  title  of  libertus   is   met." 

This  wonderful  disparity  between  the  number  of  Christian  and  hea- 
then monuments  bearing  these  marks  of  the  servitude  of  the  interred 
cannot  be  explained  by  the  inferior  social  condition  to  which  it  has 
been  claimed  the  converts  to  Christianity  largely  belonged;  since 
this  would  naturally  tend  to  increase  rather  than  diminish  the  num- 
ber mentioned  among  the  servile  class.  Moreover,  the  great  ma- 
jority of  these  Christian  inscriptions  belong  to  a  period  later  than 
the  second  century,  when  the  new  religion  had  become  widely  pro- 
fessed, and  had  adherents  among  the  government  officials,  and  even 
Conclusions  ^^^  the  impei'ial  household.  By  a  careful  comparative 
reached.  study  of  these  monuments,  the  following  conclusions  are 

reached : 

1.  That  in  the  Christian  Church  the  number  held  as  slaves  was 
reduced  to  a  minimum. 

2.  That  in  Church  relations  and  in  Christian  burial  there  was  rec- 
ognised absolute  equality  of  right  and  privilege,  and  that  all  re- 
garded themselves  as  members  of  a  common  household. 

Another  interesting  class  of  epigraphical  objects  are  the  hullce. 

These  were  little  tablets  or  bands  of  metal,  which  were 
The  bullae.  ^  ,        «  t  ,  ^        ]•    c      ■  • 

accustomed  to  be  fastened  to  the  neck  oi  fugitive  or 

untrustworthy  slaves.  Scarcely  more  than  twenty  of  these  of  a 
clearly  Christian  origin  have  been  discovered.  They  tell  an  inter- 
esting story  of  the  efforts  of  the  Christian  Church  to  soften  the 
hardships  of  this  condition.     They  likewise  clearly  testify  to  the 

'  de  Rossi:  Bull  di  arch,  crist,  1866,  p.  24.  '^  de  morte  Peregrini,  13. 

*  de  Rossi :  Roma  Sotterranea,  t.  i,  p.  343. 

*Scluiltze:  Die  altchristlichen  Grahstatten,  Leipzig,  1882,  s.  258. 


THE   CHURCH  AND    SLAVERY.  523 

existence  of  slavery  within  tlie  Church,  as  connected  with  Christ- 
ian basilicas.  It  was  claimed  by  Pignoris '  that  the  cruel  custom  of 
branding  in  the  forehead  fugitive  and  perverse  slaves  was  supplanted 
by  this  milder  characterization  through  a  special  edict  of  Constan- 
tine.  Only  three  of  these  chains  for  the  neck  have  been  certainly 
traced  to  the  pre-Constantine  period.  The  greater  part  of  these 
bullm  are  clearly  contemporaneous  with  Constantine,  or  belong  to 
the  fourth  century." 

Again,  the  monuments  accord  with  the  written  records,  and  con- 
firm the  claim  that  Christianity  elevated  labour  and  the  Christianity  ei- 
labourer  to  a  state  of  respectability.  evated  labour. 

The  condition  of  the  free  labourer  under  a  government  where 
slavery  is  the  legal  condition  of  a  large  portion  of  the  population 
must  be  one  of  great  hardship  and  humiliation.  It  has  been  so  in 
all  lands.  That  it  was  emphatically  true  of  the  Roman  labourer  all 
historians  and  moralists  alike  affirm.  But  Christianity  was  to  teach 
another  law  than  that  which  was  then  observed  by  paganism.  The 
awakening  of  a  spirit  of  industry,  and  the  affirmation  of  the  dignity 
of  labour,  were  two  important  services  rendered  by  the  early  Church. 
The  literature  of  the  fathers  is  full  and  explicit  on  this  point;  the 
monumental  and  epigraphical  lesson  is  plainly  confirmatory  of  the 
documentary.  Such  inscriptions  as  the  following  would  illustrative  in- 
not  be  tolerated  on  a  pagan  monument:  MHTPI  KATI-  scriptions. 
ANIAAH  EPronOin.  This  belongs  to  the  third  century.  De  Rossi' 
also  describes  a  tomb  on  which  the  husband  had  engraved  the  pic- 
ture of  a  loom  and  shuttle,*  emblems  of  domestic  industry,  recalling 
the  customs  of  the  ancient  Roman  days.  Still  another  is  where  the 
wife  has  erected  a  rich  tomb  to  her  husband,  upon  which  stands  an 
inscription  that  would  be  regarded  a  cause  of  humiliation  to  the 

'  Dt  servis  eorumque  'ininisteriis,  Padova,  1613. 

"  de  Rossi:  Bull,  di  arch,  crist.,  1874,  pp.  60,  seq.  The  following  may  be  given  as 
an  example  of  these  bullce:  Tene  me  quiafigi  et  revoca  me  Publio  Rubric  Latino  domino 
meo.  "  Seize  me  because  I  have  fled,  and  return  me  to  Publius  Rubrius  Latinus, 
my  master !  " 

3  De  Rossi:  Bullettino  di  arch,  crist,  1865,  p.  52.  The  full  form  of  the  last  word, 
as  found  in  the  inscription,  is  EPrOIIOIlGIQ.  On  this  de  Rossi  comments :  "  It  is 
evident  to  me  that  the  stone-cutter  has,  by  mistake,  repeated  the  syllable  HO,  as  if 
he  would  amend  ep-yonoiu,  as  in  so  many  other  syllables  which  we  find  carelessly 
reduplicated  in  both  Greek  and  Latin  inscriptions.  Although  no  such  word  is  found 
in  the  classical  lexicons,  it  is  plain  that  it  signifies  operosa,  laboriosa.  ...  It  shows 
the  Christian  glorying  in  labor — a  thing  unknown  to  the  pagan  world ;  that  labour 
was  not  disgraceful,  but  honourable ;  that  disgrace  and  sin  came  from  indolence 
and  laziness." 

*  De  Rossi:  Inscrip.  Christ,  urbis  Romce,  No.  14  (A.  D.  279),  p.  21. 
34 


524  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

proud  Roman:  AMATRIX  PAVPERORVM  ET  OPERARIA.'  The 
companionship  in  labour  is  not  now  regarded  disgraceful,  but  wor- 
thy of  commendation.  See  the  following,  fi-om  Garrucci,  found  in 
the  catacomb  of  Sts.  Peter  and  Marcellinus  upon  a  tomb  erected  by 
a  humble  saint  named  Primus  to  Leontia  :  LEONTIiE  CVM  LABA- 
RONvE  SV^." 

Thus  the  testimony  of  the  Christian  fathers  and  the  monuments 
are  in  accord  with  reference  to  the  influence  of  Christianity  in  ame- 
liorating the  condition  of  slaves  under  the  Roman  Empire,  and  in 
effecting  their  gradual  emancipation.  It  was  by  the  operation  of 
the  law  of  love  Mdiich  was  promulgated  by  the  Founder. 

•  De  Rossi:  Inscrip.  Christ,  No.  62  (A.  D.  341),  p.  49. 

^  Garrucci :  Nuove  epigra/e  giudaiche  di  vigna  Randanini,  p.  9. 


KELATION  TO  CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  LIFE.  525 


CHAPTER  III. 

RELATION  OF  THE   EARLY  CHURCH  TO  CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  LIFE, 

The  changes  in  Roman  opinion  relative  to  the  family,  to  slavery, 
and  to  manual  labour,  had  not  been  effected  by  Christianity  alone. 
We  have  noted  the  influence  of  the  Stoical  philosoj^hy  in  causing 
the  revolution.  To  what  extent  these  modifications  of  thought 
and  practice  may  be  attributable  to  this  or  that  force  which  was 
silently  at  work  in  the  Roman  world  during  the  second  and 
third  centuries  may  not  be  determined.  The  change  is  indubitable. 
From  the  first  Christianity  had  insisted  upon  honourable  labour 
as  a  duty.     The  example  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  is  . 

positive;  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures  are  clear  and      encouraged 
explicit.     The  slothful  servant  is  pictured  as  deserving     I'^^'o"'"- 
condemnation;  Paul,  the  tent-maker,  glories  in  his  ability  to  gain  a 
livelihood,  and  will  not  consent  to  be  a  burden  to  his  brethren.    The 
man  who  will  not  toil  may  not  eat  his  bread  in  peace.     "  Diligent 
in  business  "  was  associated  with  "  serving  the  Lord." 

But  it  is  important  to  notice  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  certain 

trades  and  industries.     They  had  direct  influence  upon  the  type  of 

Christian  morality,  and  brought  the  teaching  of  the  Christians  and 

of  the  heathen  into  sharpest  contrast.     The  early  Church  was  beset 

by  adverse  influences  arising  from  the  prevalent  idolatry,   Adverse  influ- 

from  the  abounding  impurity,  and  from  the  corrupting  ences. 

exhibitions  connected  with  the  popular  amusements.      The  statues, 

temples,  and  altars  dedicated  to  an  innumerable  multitude  of  gods; 

the  reverence  in  which  some  of  these  were  held  by  the  people ;  their 

almost  continuous  worship,   conducted  in  all  the  great  centers  of 

population,  enveloped  the  Christians  in  an  atmosphere  laden  with 

impurity.     The  failure  or  blank  refusal  to  participate  in  the  public 

worship  of  what  were  reputed  to  be  the  guardian  divini-  ^   . 

^  ...  Trymo:  position 

ties  of  the  State  made  the  Christians  an  object  of  hate   of  the  cbrist- 

and  suspicion,  and  subjected  them  to  the  charge  of  athe-   ^^'^^' 
ism.     The  position  of  a  monotheistic  faith  and  of  an  absolute  relig- 
ion was  often   delicate  in  the  extreme.     To  show  themselves  loyal 
subjects  of  the  empire,  and  yet  uncompromising  in  their  allegiance 
to  Christ,   brought   daily   embarrassments   to   Christians.      Those 


526  ARCHAEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

eno'aged  in  the  service  of  the  temples,  or  in  trades  connected 
directly  with  idolatrous  worship,  as  image  makers,  incense  dealers, 
etc.,  were  adjudged  by  the  Cliurch  as  contributing  to  the  corruption 
of  the  people,  and  were  ineligible  to  membership. 

The  testimony  of  the  fathers  on  this  point  is  clear.  Tertullian 
Certain  trades  says:  "I  take  it  that  that  trade  which  pertains  to  the 
condemned.  very  soul  and  spirit  of  idols,  which  pampers  every 
demon,  falls  under  the  charge  of  idolatry.  .  .  .  The  dealer  in  frank- 
incense is  a  something  even  more  serviceable  toward  demons,  for 
idolatry  is  more  easily  cai'ried  on  without  the  idol  than  without 
the  ware  of  the  frankincense  seller.  .  .  ,  No  art,  then,  no  profession, 
no  trade  which  administers  either  to  the  equipping  or  making  of 
idols,  can  be  free  from  the  name  of  idolatry."  '  "  Again,  can  you 
have  denied  with  the  tongue  what  you  confess  with  the  hand  ?  Can 
Tertuiiian's  Y^u  unmake  by  word  what  you  make  by  your  deed  ? 
opinion.  (Jan  you,  who  make  so  many,  preach  one  God  ?     Can 

you,  who  make  false  ones,  preach  the  true  God  ?  "  ^  "  For  it  matters 
not  whether  you  erect  or  equip;  if  you  have  embellished  his  temple, 
altar,  or  niche;  if  you  have  pressed  out  gold-leaf,  or  have  wrought 
his  insignia,  or  even  his  house;  work  of  that  kind,  which  confers 
not  shape,  but  authority,  is  more  important." '  "  Whatever  guilt 
idolatry  incurs  must  necessarily  be  imparted  to  every  artificer  of 
The  Apostolic  every  idol."  *  With  this  teaching  the  Apostolic  Consti- 
Constitutions.  tutions  are  in  harmony.  "  If  a  maker  of  idols  come,  let 
him  either  leave  off  his  employment  or  let  him  be  rejected."' 
Such  is  the  consistent  and  uniform  teaching  of  the  early  Church. 
The  sin  of  idolatry  was  a  constant  threat,  and  warnings  against 
the  evil  by  the  leaders  of  the  Church,  both  before  and  after 
Constantine,  are  positive  and  frequent.  The  Christians  were  for- 
bidden to  do  any  thing  which  could  directly  or  remotely  abet  or 
compromise  with  this  besetting  sin  of  the  Roman  world.  Like 
teaching  is  found  with  respect  to  those  employments  which  were 
connected  with  the  corrupting  practices  and  amuse- 
ments inter-  ments  of  heathen  society.  It  included  stage  actors, 
"^  ^  '  teachers  of  the  art,  procurers  and  panderers,  gladiators, 

those  employed  in  the  public  shows,  soothsayers,  minstrels,  dan- 
cers, etc. 

The  Roman  drama  had  become  fearfully  corrupt.     While  nobl 
sentiments  are  occasionally  found  in  the  plays  represented  before 

'  de  Idolat,  c.  2.  2  75^-^  _  <.  g.  '  Ibid.,  c.  8. 

■*  Ibid.,  c.  4.    "  Quicquid  idolatria  commiltil,  in  artificem  quemamque  et  cuiuscumque 
idoli  dcputetur  necesse  est." 
*  Cons.  Apos.,  1.  viii,  c.  32. 


RELATION  TO  CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  LIFE.  527 

an  average   audience,   the  resultant    influence   was   debasing,    and 
actors    were    held    in    low    esteem.      Under   the   later  ^  .... 

Low  condition 

republic,  the  utterances  of  the  stage  were  often  laden  of  the  Roman 
with  ridicule  of  the  gods,  and  had  in  no  small  degree  '^'^™^' 
encouraged  the  growing  scepticism.  But  under  the  empire 
the  theatre  had  been  greatly  degraded  by  the  public  shows  and 
popular  exhibitions.  While  the  enormous  amphitheatres  were 
crowded  for  many  successive  days  to  witness  the  gladiatorial 
contests,  the  races  and  games,  the  entire  seating  capacity  of  the 
great  theatres  was  less  than  50,000;  and  in  ordinary  times  the 
theatre  of  Pompey,  with  a  capacity  of  17,580,  could  accommodate 
all  visitors.  So  depraved  had  become  the  Roman  taste  that 
even  this  small  number  could  be  gathered  only  by  exhibitions 
of  the  lowest  species  of  the  drama,  light  comedy  and  mime.  The 
indecencies  of  these  representations  were  shocking  in  the  extreme. 
The  boldest  impiety,  the  most  shameless  immodesty,  the  grossest 
vulgarity  awakened  deafening  applause  from  the  debauched  popu- 
lace.' Nor  was  the  character  of  these  representations  much  improved 
in  the  Eastern  Empire,  even  in  the  time  of  Justinian.  The  Like  degrada- 
lowest  forms  of  social  life  were  there  presented.  The  won  in  the  East. 
most  sacred  relations  were  travestied.  The  unfaithfulness  of  hus- 
band or  wife  was  the  frequent  subject  of  representation,  in  which 
the  escapades  of  the  panderer  or  adulterer  were  occasions  of  unlim- 
ited mirth.  Snatches  from  the  indecorous  songs  heard  in  the  the- 
atre were  repeated  upon  the  streets  to  poison  the  imagination  and 
break  down  all  moral  restraint.* 

True,  a  few  nobler  characters  of  heathendom  felt  the  degrading 
influence  of  these  forms  of  dramatic  representation,  and  struggled 
to  improve  the  public  taste.  But  they  were  entirely  impotent  to 
arrest  the  sweeping  tide  of  corruption.  Moreover  high  tragedy 
was  never  popular  with  even  the  better  classes  of  the  nigh  tragedy 
Roman  world.  They  preferred  the  lighter  works.  The  unpopular. 
degeneracy  of  the  later  plays  was  manifest.  The  introduction  of 
music  and  the  dance  soon  caused  the  representations  to  assume 
the  form  of  the  pantomime,  which  became,  in  turn,  the  most  cor- 
rupting form  of  theatrical  representation.  So  generally  Avas  the 
immoral  influence  of  the  drama  recognised  that  actors  Legal  disabiu- 
were  generally  under  social  and  legal  disability.  Often  ^^^^  °^  actors. 
they  had  no  greater  rights  than  slaves  or  freedmen.  Hence  it  came 
to  pass  that  the  great  mass  of  players  Avere  from  these  classes,  sunken 
into  the  deepest  degradation,  with  few  if  any  legal  privileges.^ 

'  Friedlaiider:   Sitiengeschichte  Roms.,  Bd.  ii,  ss.  391-395. 
2  Jbid.,  ss.  396,  397.  ^  /^^^^  gg,  424,  seq. 


528  ARCHAEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  purity  of  the  Church  was  constantly 
threatened  by  these  exhibitions,  and  stringent  rules  were  enacted 
respecting  the  classes  who  were  connected  with  theatrical  represent- 
ations, and  the  frequenting  of  the  phiys.  Tertullian  finds  in  all 
the  shows  and  spectacles  alike  a  taint  of  idolatry,  and  is  vigorous 
in  warning  against  their  contaminating  influence.  "  It 
ed  with  idoia-  may  be  grand  or  mean,  no  matter,  any  circus  proces- 
^^^-  sion  whatever  is  offensive  to  God.     Though  there  be 

few  images  to  grace  it,  there  is  idolatry  in  one;  though  there  be  no 
more  than  a  single  sacred  car,  it  is  a  chariot  of  Jupiter;  any  thing 
of  idolatry  whatever,  whether  meanly  arranged  or  modestly  rich 
and  gorgeous,  taints  it  in  its  origin." '  So  also  in  the  dramatic 
representations  and  the  combats  generally.  Moreover  he  urges 
the  Church  to  refrain  from  these  on  the  ground  of  their  immodesty 
and  impurity;  also  because  the  Christian  faith  and  life  are  there 
Christianity  travestied  and  brought  into  public  ridicule.  "We 
travestied.  ought  to  detest  these  heathen  meetings  and  assem- 
blies, if  on  no  other  account  than  that  there  God's  name  is  blas- 
phemed. .  .  .  Shall  you  not,  then,  shun  those  tiers  where  the 
enemies  of  Christ  assemble,  that  seat  of  all  that  is  pestilential, 
and  the  very  superincumbent  atmosphere  all  impure  with  wicked 
cries  ?  " ' 

Like  representations  of  the  chai-acter  of  the  public  shows  are 
Cyprian's  state-  made  by  C^'prian.  In  his  epistle  to  Donatus  he  draws 
ments.  ^  fearful  sketch  of  the  immoralities  of  his  time.     "  The 

whole  world  is  wet  with  mutual  blood.  .  .  .  Crime  is  not  only  com- 
mitted, but  taught.  ...  It  is  the  tragic  buskin  which  relates  in 
verse  the  crimes  of  ancient  days.  ...  In  the  mimes  .  .  .  adultery 
is  learned  while  it  is  seen;  .  .  .  the  matron  who  perchance  has  gone 
to  the  spectacle  a  modest  woman  returns  from  it  immodest.  .  .  . 
Men  grow  into  praise  by  virtue  of  their  crimes;  and  the  more  he  is 
degraded,  the  more  skilful  is  he  regarded.  .  ,  .  The  judge  sells  his 
sentence;  .  .  .  there  is  no  fear  about  the  laws  when  the  sentence  can 
be  bought  off  for  money;  .  .  .  it  is  a  crime  now  among  the  guilty 
to  be  innocent." '  Equally  with  Tertullian  he  finds  in  all  the 
public  shows  a  gross  idolatry,  and  is  faithful  in  warning  against 
their  contaminating  influences.  The  spirit  of  his  teaching  is  that  of 
his  master.  "  Idolatry  is  the  mother  of  all  the  public  amusements. 
.  .  .  Thus  the  devil,  who  is  their  original  contriver,  because  he  knew 
that  naked  idolatry  would  by  itself  excite  repugnance,  associated  it 
with  public  exhibitions,  that  for  the  sake  of  their  attraction  it  might 

'  de  Spectac,  c.  7.  ^  Ibid.,  c.  22. 

'  ad  Donat,  cc.  6,  7,  10. 


RELATION  TO  CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  LIFE.  529 

be  loved."  '     He  positively  forbids  not  only  actors  but  teachers  of 

the  histrionic  art  from  communicatinar  with  the  Church.    .  ^ 

/^       _  Actors  exclud- 

"  For  he  cannot  appear  to  have  given  it  (the  actor's  ed  from  the 
art)  up  who  substitutes  others  in  his  place,  and  who,  "'*^  ' 
instead  of  himself  alone,  supplies  many  in  his  stead." '^  CAqjrian 
recognises  the  hardness  of  the  condition  of  such  as  have  left  lucra- 
tive callings  to  accept  the  faith  of  Christ;  but  the  earnestness 
and  wise  provisions  of  the  Church  for  such  are  clearly  illus- 
trated in  the  same  connection :  "  But  if  such  a  one  Relief  of  hard- 
alleges  poverty  and  the  necessity  of  small  means,  his  ^^*p- 
necessity  also  can  be  assisted  among  the  rest  who  are  maintained 
by  the  support  of  the  Church;  if  he  be  content,  that  is,  with  very 
frugal  but  innocent  food."  ' 

The  Apostolic  Constitutions  contain  like  teaching.  "  If  one  be- 
longing to  the  theater  come,  whether  it  be  man  or  woman,  .  .  . 
either  let  him  leave  off  his  employments,  or  let  him  be  rejected."  * 
The  decisions  of  the  Councils  are  entirely  harmonious  conciiiary  ac- 
with  this  general  teaching  of  the  pre-Constantine  fathers  '■^o^- 
and  of  the  Constitutions.  The  Council  of  Elvira  (pi-obably  in  A.  D. 
305  or  306)  enacted  that  actors  and  soothsayers  should  be  received 
to  baptism  only  on  condition  that  they  leave  their  arts,  and  do  not 
return  to  them.  In  case  of  return  the}''  are  to  be  rejected  from 
the  Church.*  Like  action  was  taken  by  the  third  Council  of  Car- 
thage, A.  D.  397. 

The  unparalleled  greed  of  the  Roman  populace  for  shows  had 
been  strengthened  by  the  enormous  expenditures  of  Love  of  spec- 
some  of  the  emperors,  whose  usurpation  or  vileness  of  tacies. 
character  must  be  hidden  under  a  show  of  public  munificence. 
Probabty  no  period  of  human  history  presents  an  array  of  trades 
and  callings  to  prop  up  a  failing  faith,  and  to  pander  to  a  vitiated 
taste,  equal  to  that  of  the  empire  during  the  first  three  and  a  half  cen- 
turies of  the  Christian  era.  By  a  law  of  spiritual  life,  as  the  purity 
and  sti'ength  of  faith  declined  the  machinerj^  of  religion  became 
more  complicated.  The  failure  of  the  religions  indigenous  to  Italy 
led  the  people  to  look  to  the  distant  and  the  unknown   „ 

11  1  •!  T  •    /I  Superstition 

for  help ;  the  wild  influx  of  worships  and  rites  from  the   multiplies  the 

most  distant  regions  multiplied  the  numbers  devoted  "'^^^* 

to  trades  necessary  to  supply  the  demands  of  every  cultus,  and 

'  de  Spedac.,  c.  4.  While  this  treatise  is  usually  regarded  as  of  doubtful  genuiue- 
ness,  it  is  animated  by  the  general  spirit  of  Cyprian's  works. 

'  ad  Euchrai.,  c.  2.  ^  /j/^  4  Const.  Apostol.,  1.  viii,  c.  32. 

^  Canon  62 :  "Quod  si  facere  contra  interdictum  tentaverint,  projiciaulur  ab  eo- 
clesia." 


530  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

greatly  added  to  the  embarrassments  of  tlie  early  Church,  Prac- 
ticers  of  curious  arts,  magicians,  diviners,  enchanters,  astrol- 
ogers; minstrels,  harpers,  dancers;  charioteers,  racers,  gladiators, 
curators  of  the  games;  makers  of  amulets,  fortune-tellers,  wander- 
ing beggars — against  this  untold  multitude  who  directly  or  indirectly! 
were  connected  with  the  prevalent  polytheism,  or  sought  a  liveli 
hood  by  ministering  to  vitiated  tastes,  the  Church  set  its  face  as  a 
Severe  disci-  flint.  Eligibility  to  baptism  required  the  absolute  relin- 
piine.  quishment  of  them  all,   and  indulgence  in  them  by  a 

member  of  the  Church  was  visited  by  severe  penalties.  The  disci- 
pline of  the  Church  was  strict,  but  oftentimes  it  was  unable  to 
stem  the  fearful  tide  of  corruption. 

Another  source  of  temptation  was  the  military  life.    The  relation 

of  the  Church  to  the  bearing  of  arms  was  not  easy  to  be 
Aversion    to  ^    ^  >' 

military  ser-  determined.  Here  also,  as  with  respect  to  public  or 
^  *^*^'  official  business,  the  prevalent  expectation  of  the  speedy 

coming  of  Christ  exerted  wide  influence.  So  evanescent  and  trivial 
did  the  affairs  of  earthly  governments  appear,  when  contrasted  with 
the  glories  of  the  kingdom  which  Christ  was  to  set  up,  that  the 
Christians  of  the  second  and  third  centuries  regarded  the  policies 
and  activities  of  the  state  as  unworthy  of  their  serious  thought. 
Patriotism  and  loyalty,  the  usual  motives  inducing  subjects  to  bear 
arms,  were  felt  to  a  less  degree  by  men  whose  first  allegiance 
was  due  to  an  invisible  kingdom,  whose  sway  would  soon  be  uni- 
versal. Doubtless  also  the  teaching  of  Christ  to  avoid  strife,  to 
forgive  injuries,  to  bless  and  curse  not,  to  do  good  unto  all  men,  to 
resist  not  evil,  cultivated  in  his  followers  aversion  to  arms  and  to 
the  military  life.  It  is  evident  that  Tertullian  was  affected  by  this 
Tainted  with  view,  but  still  more  by  his  abhorrence  of  idolatry.  In 
idolatry.  ^j^g  military  life,  as  in  all  the  various  employments  con- 

nected with  the  numberless  religions  of  his  day,  he  sees  the  taint  of 
idolatry.  The  well  known  picture  of  a  Christian  soldier  taking  off 
the  laurel  chaplet  which  had  been  bestowed  by  imperial  favour,  the 
jeering  of  the  multitude,  the  murmur  arresting  the  attention  of  the 
tribune,  the  confession,  "  I  am  a  Christian,"  the  appeal  to  higher 
authority,  the  disrobing  of  the  soldier,  the  thrusting  into  prison 
to  await  martyrdom,  Tertullian  sketches  with  loving  interest,  and 
the  course  of  the  soldier  meets  his  thorough  approval.'  This  par- 
ticular case  leads  him  to  the  discussion  of  the  general  question 
of  the  propriety  or  right  of  a  Christian  to  engage  in  the  military 
life.  "  Shall  it  be  held  lawful  to  make  an  occupation  of  the  sword, 
when  the  Lord  proclaims  that  he  who  uses  the  sword  shall  perish 
'  de  Corona  Mil.,   c.  1. 


RELATION  TO  CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  LIFE.  531 

by  the  sword  ?  And  shall  the  son  of  peace  take  part  in  the  battle 
when  it  does  not  become  him  even  to  sue  at  law  ?  And  ^^^.^^^  contrary 
shall  he  apply  the  chain,  and  the  prison,  and  the  tor-  to  Christ's 
tnre,  and  the  punishment,  who  is  not  the  avenger  even 
of  his  own  wrongs  ?  Shall  he,  forsooth,  either  keep  watch-service 
for  others  more  than  for  Christ,  or  shall  he  do  it  on  the  Lord's  day 
when  he  does  not  even  do  it  for  Christ  himself  ?  And  shall  he  keep 
guard  before  the  temples  which  he  has  renounced  ?  Touching  this 
primary  aspect  of  the  question,  as  to  the  lawfulness  even  of  a  mili- 
tary life  itself,  I  shall  not  add  more."  * 

But  plainly  this  Montanistic  principle  could  not  be  made  practical 
in  the  Roman  Empire.  While  the  military  spirit  had  Decadence  of 
greatly  declined  during  the  closing  decades  of  the  repub-  military  spirit. 
lie,  and  in  the  first  century  of  the  empire  scarcely  a  remnant  of  the 
better  classes  could  be  found  among  the  soldiery,*  there  was,  never- 
theless, a  general  legal  obligation  to  bear  arms.  In  this  state  of 
unpopularity  of  the  military  calling  it  is  evident  that  an  irregular 
and  unjust  levy  would  tend  to  pass  by  the  higher 
classes  and  fall  with  unequal  severity  upon  the  burgess 
population,  from  which  a  large  proportion  of  Christians  had 
been  gathered.  That  many  were  thus  pressed  into  the  army  is  evi- 
dent from  the  testimony  of  Tertullian  himself.'  The  continuance 
of  these  in  the  service  was  a  matter  of  necessity,  since  their 
desertion  must  have  brought  upon  the  Church  still  greater  sus- 
picion and  persecution.  Even  Tertullian  regards  the  case  of  those 
who  embraced  Christianity  after  they  had  entered  the 

Milder  views. 

military  life  as  very  delicate,  yet  appears  to  advise  the 
abandonment  of  the  calling,  and  the  acceptance  of  the  consequences.* 
Origen  was  early  inclined  to  speak  with  great  severity  respecting 
the  propriety  of  bearing  arms,  but  afterward  admitted  that  it  might 
be  possible  and  even  honourable.  Also  the  evidence  is  convincing 
that  in  the  reign  of  M.  Aurelius  many  Christian  soldiers  wei'e  in 
the  Roman  army,  and  under  Diocletian  high  offices  were  filled  by 
members  of  the  Chui-ch. 

The  Apostolic  Constitutions  also  certainly  provide  for  the  recep- 
tion of  soldiers  by  baptism.    They  were  to  be  examined,   provision    for 
and  taught  to  do  no  injustice,  to  accuse  no  man  falsely,   baptism. 
and  to  be  content  with  their  wages. ^      The   Nicene  decision  has 

'  de  Corona  Mil,    c.  11.  cle  Idol.,  c.  19. 

"  Mommsen:   Hist,  of  Rome,  New  York,  1872,  vol.  iv,  p.  581.  ^Apolog.,  cc.  37,  42. 

*  It  has  been  charged  by  Gibbon,  and  some  others,  that  Tertullian  teaches  the  duty  of 
desertion.    The  passaire  usually  cited  (c^e  Corona  Mil.,  c.  11)  can  hardly  be  so  interpreted. 

*  Const.  Apost,  1.  viii,  c.  32. 


532  ARCHAEOLOGY  OF   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

occasioned  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  its  purport.  It  is  be- 
Decision  of  Ni-  Heved,  however,  by  the  ablest  commentators  that  the 
cene  council,  twelfth  canon  was  not  aimed  at  the  military  calling, 
but  rather  against  those  who  had  forsaken  it,  and  were  attempting 
to  reenter  it  by  means  of  bribery  or  corruption.  The  whole  con- 
duct of  Constantine  toward  the  soldiery  implies  that  military  life 
was  no  longer  under  the  ban  of  the  Church,  but  was  regarded  as 
permissible. 

The  changed  relations  of  the  Church  to  the  government,  during 
and  after  the  fourth  century,  brought  corresponding  changes  in  the 
opinion  of  the  Church  fathers  respecting  the  lawfulness  of  accepting 
offices  both  civil  and  military.  The  union  of  Church  and  State 
brought  laxity  of  discipline  and  life.  Zeal  which  should  have  been 
manifested  to  maintain  the  high  moral  and  religious  purity  of  the 
Church  was  shown  only  in  the  defence  of  its  orthodoxy.  The 
masses  of  the  heathen  world,  which  became  nominally  Christian 
with  little  change  in  belief  or  life,  caused  discipline  to  decay  and 
the  tone  of  piety  to  decline.  The  subsequent  action,  both  civil 
and  ecclesiastical,  seems  to  be  inspired  by  a  new  spirit.  The  popu- 
larity of  the  ecclesiastical  life,  exempt  as  it  was  from  many  services 
and  disabilities,  and  the  increasing  passion  for  monastic  retirement, 
compelled  the  government  to  guai'd  itself  against  these  incentives 
to  the  desertion  of  public  trusts,  especially  to  prevent  the  disintegra- 
tion of  the  army  through  withdrawal  of  its  members  in  order  to  enter 
the  less  dangerous  and  toilsome  avocations  of  the  Church.  Hence 
the  edict  of  Honorius  forbade  any  one  who  was  bound  to  the  mili- 
tary life  to  take  upon  himself  any  clerical  calling,  or  think  to  excuse 
himself  from  the  public  service  under  pretence  of  entering  upon  the 
ecclesiastical  life.  With  this  principle  the  canons  of  the  councils 
largely  agreed,  since  they  generally  refused  ordination  to  any  who 
had  entered  a  military  life  after  baptism,  and  in  most  cases  none 
who  had  been  soldiers  were  admitted  to  the  superior  offices  of  the 
Church. 

The  monumental  evidence  is  entirely  confirmatory  of  the  docu- 
Monumentai  mentary,  and  furnishes  a  very  interesting  comment  on 
evidence.  ^]^g  relation  of  the  Church  to  military  life  and  on  the 

proportion  of  Christians  enlisted  in  this  service.  Collections  of  in- 
scriptions, made  at  different  and  widely  separated  parts  of  the 
empire,  show  a  great  disparity  in  the  number  of  pagan  and  Christian 
soldiers.  Twenty  years  ago  the  studies  of  Le  Blant  on  the  collec- 
tions of  three  epigraphists,  Reinesius,  Steiner,  and  Momrasen,  which 
Avere  made  in  a  region  reaching  from  lower  Italy  north  to  the  Rhine 
border,  resulted  as  follows:    Of  10,500  pagan  inscriptions,  545,  or 


RELATION  TO  CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  LIFE.  533 

5.20  per  cent.,  contained  epitaphs  of  soldiers;  while  of  4,734  Christian 
inscriptions  only  26,  or  ,55  of  one  per  cent.,  contained  any  reference 
to  the  military  life.*  In  Gaul,  as  in  Italy,  Spain,  and  Africa,  the 
title  of  soldier  is  rarely  found  inscribed  on  the  tombs  of  the  Christ- 
ian dead.  While  this  may  be  partially  attributable  to  the  aversion 
of  the  early  Christians  to  indulge  in  fulsome  descriptions  of  the  busi- 
ness of  the  departed,  yet  no  reasonable  doubt  can  be  entertained 
that  the  fewness  of  such  inscriptions  is  largely  due  to  the  influence 
of  a  religion  whose  Founder  taught  submission  rather  than  resis- 
tance, and  the  fundamental  law  of  whose  kingdom  was  love, 

'  Le  Blant:  Manual  cf  Epigraphie  chretiemie,  etc.,  Paris,  1869,  pp.  15,  16. 


534  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

CHARITIES  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH. 

The  ancient  heathen  world  presented  a  sharp  contrast  in  the  social 
and  civil  conditions  of  its  peoples.  The  many  slaves  and  clients, 
dependent  upon  masters  and  lords  for  their  support,  tended  to  dim- 
inish the  number  of  paupers  who  must  receive  aid  at  the  hands  of 
the  government.     While  the  system  of  slavery  and  clientage  thus 

,.  ,  ^     lessened  the  demands  for  the  practice  of  active  charity, 
Poor-relief    by  ... 

heathen     na-  large  numbers  of  the  indigent  were  assisted  at  the  pub- 

*'°°^"  lie  expense,  and  manj'-  instances  of  noble  private  gifts 

for  the  relief  of  the  unfortunate  are  recorded  hj  the  historians,  and 
are  fully  attested  by  the  surviving  monuments.  In  Attica  Solon 
and  his  successors  had  incorporated  into  their  legislation  the  princi- 
ple that  it  is  the  dut}^  of  the  state  to  provide  for  its  poor  and  un- 
fortunate ;  and  very  early  in  the  history  of  the  Roman  Republic  the 
sums  expended  in  the  gratuitous  distribution  of  corn  to  the  people 
constituted  an  important  item  in  the  public  budget.  The  number 
thus  receiving  relief  at  Rome  alone,  at  the  beginning  of  the  empire, 
was  320,000,  or  more  than  one  fourth  of  the  entire  population  of 
the  city.  Under  the  vigourous  policy  of  Julius  Coesar  this  had 
been  reduced  to  150,000,  but  under  Augustus  it  had  risen  to 
200,000,  and  under  the  Antonines  had  increased  to  the  enormous 
number  of  500,000.  This  gratuitous  distribution  of  corn,  bread,  oil, 
and  salt,  which  began  at  Rome,  extended  to  many  of  the  great  cit- 
ies and  was  probably  practised  even  in  many  of  the  smaller  towns 
of  the  empire.' 

The  writings  of  the  Stoics  had  inculcated  charity.  In  some  of 
Teachings  of  these  are  found  noble  precepts  which  seem  to  rival  the 
the  stoics.  most  exalted  teachings  of  the  New  Testament.  The 
fraternity  of  the  race,  and  the  corresponding  duty  of  relieving  the 
woes  of  all,  ai'e  sometimes  taught  with  great  distinctness  and  en- 
forced with  much  eloquence.  When  Cicero  says,  "  Nature  ordains 
that  a  man  should  wish  the  good  of  every  man,  whoever  he  may  be, 
for  this  very  reason,  that  he  is  a  man ; "  *  and  Seneca  affirms,  "  I 
know  that  my  country  is  the  world,  and  ray  guardians   are  the 

'  Mommsen:  Hist  of  Rome,  vol.  iv,  p.  591.     Leckey:    Op.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  74,  75. 
'  de  officiis,  ili,  6. 


CHARITIES  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  535 

gods;"'  and  Lucian  sings  of  a  time  when  "the  human  race  will 

cast  aside  its  weapons,  and  when  all  nations  will  learn  to  love,"  *  we 

seem  to  have  in  this  philosophy  a  basis  for  broadest  benevolence  and 

universal  charity.     Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  some  of  the  purest  and 

best  men  of  heathenism  belonged  to  the  Stoic  school,  and  were  at 

times  loud  in  their  protests  against  injustice  and  cruelty.     Yet  in 

this  system  was  recognised  a  principle  which  must  be  fatal  to  high 

and  continuous  charity.     The  duty  of   suppressinar  all 

,,  ,/ .        .,  J     ^.  i?    ^1  Its  defects. 

emotion   would   result  in   the   extinction   or    the  very 

sources  of  true  benevolent  activity.     Indifference  in  the  presence  of 

suffering,  or  the  reckoning  of  every  condition  of  human  experience 

as  unworthy  the  thought  of  the  true  man,  necessarily  carried  with 

it  indifference  to  the  alleviation  of  woes,  and  produced  the  strange 

contradictions  presented  in  the  teachings,  life,  and  death  of  some  of 

the  great  masters  of  this  philosophy. 

The  stress  of  poverty,  as  well  as  the  desire  for  the  promotion  of 
favourite  schemes,  had  resulted  in  the  organization  of  xhe  clubs  and 
numerous  clubs  and  associations  throughout  the  Roman  guiWs. 
Empire.  They  were  in  great  variety — social,  political,  industrial, 
and  religious;  yet  in  each  was  found  an  element  of  mutual  aid  in 
case  of  distress.  By  weekly  or  monthly  contributions  of  the  mem- 
bers, and  by  liberal  gifts  from  the  wealthy  whom  they  counted 
among  their  patrons,  a  fund  was  secured  which  was  placed  in  charge 
of  curators  to  be  used  for  the  common  benefit.  These  collegia  also 
cared  for  the  burial  of  their  members  by  the  appropriation  of  a 
given  sura,  usually  dependent  upon  the  rank  of  the  deceased,  a  por- 
tion of  which  was  spent  at  the  funeral  banquet,  and  for  the  distri- 
bution of  bread  and  wine  among  the  poorer  members  of  the  guild. 
Such  was  the  Roman  care  for  the  dead,  and  for  keeping  alive  their 
memory,  that  the  rich  often  made  large  donations  to  ^n  element  of 
the  collegia  upon  the  special  condition  that  the  anniver-  seiflshness. 
sary  of  their  death  should  be  celebrated  in  a  worthy  manner  b}^  sac- 
rifices, assemblies  at  the  tomb,  libations,  and  distribution  of  money, 
bread,  and  wine  among  those  Avho  might  be  present  at  the  ceremo- 
nies. So  common  was  it  to  provide  for  the  burial,  and  for  celebrat- 
ing the  anniversary  of  the  death  b}''  appropriate  observances,  that  it 
may  be  called  a  Roman  custom.  It  furnishes  an  explanation  of  the 
building  of  magnificent  tombs  along  the  Appian  Way,  and  of  the 
erection  of  convenient  cellce,  upon  sites  sometimes  of  great  extent  and 
costliness,  connected  with  which  were  altars  and  banqueting  halls 
for  holding  the  burial  feasts. 

The  collegia,  especially  the  burial  clubs,  had  a  most  important 
'  de  Vita  Beata,  xx.  "^  Fharsalia,  vi. 


536  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

influence  upon  the  early  Christian  societies,  and  are  intimately  con- 
influence  of  nected  with  the  history  of  Christian  charities.  The 
nf  t"'^'"h-*^°  heathen  inscriptions  plainly  use  language  which  has 
ities.  sometimes  been  supposed  to  be  peculiar  to  the  Church,  as 

brother  and  sister,  father  and  mother,  as  applied  to  members  of  the 
guild,  or  to  founders,  liberal  patrons,  or  chief  officers  of  the  same. 
Doubtless  it  was  within  the  walls  of  the  schola,  or  at  the  gather- 
ings in  the  hired  room  of  some  humble  Roman  tavern,  that  the  vast 
body  of  artisans,  excluded  as  they  were  from  all  hope  of  political 
trust  or  preferment,  felt  the  importance  of  individual  life  and  expe- 
rienced the  quickening  power  of  a  common  interest.  This  liberal- 
izing influence  was  doubtless  one  source  of  the  jealousy  of  the  em- 
perors, and  led  to  the  partial  suppression  of  the  meetings  of  the 
guilds.  In  these,  vastly  more  than  in  any  form  of  heathen  worship, 
is  found  a  measurable  resemblance  to  the  methods  and  spii'it  of  the 
Christian  Church.     It  has  often  been  remarked  by  students  of  early 

,„u  r.^,  V.  Christianity  that  in  the  Christian  societies  alone,  of  all 
The  Church  a  "^  ,  ' 

true  cominuni-  the  Roman  world,  a  true  community  was  realized.  Both 
^^'  in  the  religious  and  political  life  of  that  period  this  was 

totally  unknown.  The  mass  of  the  citizens  were  valuable  onlj^  as  they 
contributed  to  the  welfare  of  the  state;  and  the  religious  worship, 
supported  by  the  government,  had  less  interest  for  the  masses  of  the 
people  than  had  the  daily  shows  in  the  amphitheatre.  The  thought 
of  the  personal  duty  of  charity,  or  of  communal  benefits,  was  foreign 
to  the  pagan  mind.  It  was,  therefore,  impossible  that  either  the  re- 
lief afforded  to  the  needy  by  monthly  distribution  of  corn,  or  the  lar- 
gesses of  the  emperors,  or  the  support  given  hj  masters  to  slaves,  or 
by  patrons  to  clients,  or  by  the  numerous  guilds  to  their  members 
could  be  of  the  nature  of  a  pure  and  genuine  charity.  Through 
Heathen  har-  ^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^  ^^'^  diffused  the  taint  of  selfishness.  The 
ity  tainted  with  largesses  were  at  times  bestowed  to  allay  popular  clam- 
s  ness.  ^^^^.^  ^^,  ^^  hide  the  crimes  of  an  ambitious  usurper;  the 
distribution  of  corn  was  often  made  in  order  to  relieve  the  hunger 
of  a  rabble  which  might  otherwise  precipitate  a  bloody  revolution; 
the  monthly  contributions  and  intimate  association  of  the  clubs  were 
for  the  benefit  of  members  of  the  guild  alone.  The  Stoic  philosophy 
failed  when  tested  by  the  adverse  condition  of  the  Roman  world, 
and  its  teachings,  however  noble  in  themselves,  were  inadequate  to 
purify  the  awful  corruptions  of  society  or  alleviate  the  sore  distress 
and  poverty.  In  its  ultimate  analysis  this  philosophy  was  an  edu- 
cation of  pride,  and  tended  to  a  sublime  egotism.'     Its  pantheistic 

'  Conybeare  and  Howsou :  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  6th  ed.,  New  York,  1 858, 
vol.  i,  p.  368. 


CHARITIES  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  537 

principles  also  detracted  from  the  dignity  and  sacredness  of  individ- 
ual being,  and  could  therefore  furnish  no  solid  ground  for  genuine 
charity. 

Chi'istian  charity  was  a  necessary  outflow  from  the  idea  which 

lay  at  the  very  source  of  the  system,  namely,  the  king-  „ 

J  J  '  J  J  t3     True     inspira- 

dom  of  God,  which  is  a  community  of  men  who  have  tioa  of  christ- 
been  reconciled  to  God  in  Christ,  whose  laAV  is  a  law  of  ^^^^'^'^"^^y- 
love.'  This  law  is  the  supreme  rule  of  action  in  this  community; 
hence  the  selfish  element,  which  tainted  nearly  every  system  of  relief 
in  the  heathen  world,  is  eliminated,  and  the  charity  is  practiced  in  the 
name  of  Christ  who  came  to  realize  the  kingdom  of  heaven  among 
men.  It  is,  therefore,  done  unto  men  not  simply  to  relieve  from 
present  poverty  and  need,  but  much  more  because  of  their  relations 
to  the  new  kingdom,  which  is  also  to  be  an  everlasting  kingdom,  of 
which  each,  however  lowly,  may  be  a  subject.  The  selling  of  all 
that  he  had  and  giving  to  the  poor  was  the  condition  imposed  by 
Christ  upon  the  young  rich  man  in  order  that  he  might  become  a 
member  of  this  community,  and  thus  feel  that  he  had  richer  pos- 
sessions in  sharing  in  the  experiences  of  the  whole  body  of  believers. 
Christ's  own  example  is  that  which  he  would  have  his  followers  imi- 
tate. It  is  the  Samaritan's  catholicity  of  spirit  which  receives  his 
special  approval.  He  leaves  the  society  of  his  immediate  family  to 
become  the  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners.  He  violates  the  arti- 
ficial proprieties  of  his  nation  to  instruct  the  woman  of  Samaria  at 
the  well,  or  to  heal  the  afflicted  Syrophcenician. 

This  broader  spirit  and  deeper  significance  of  charity  found  ex 
emplification  from  the  very  beginning  of  Christ's  public  ministry. 
Germs  of  the  beneficent  institutions  which  have  been  to  the  great 
honour  of  the  Church  are  found  in  the  lifetime  of  Christ  in  the 
circle  of  serving  women  surrounding  the  Lord,  a  type  of  the  deacon- 
esses and  of  all  charitable  women,  in  whom  the  history  of  the  Church 
is  so  rich.'' 

What  has  been  said  elsewhere  (v.  pp.  465  sq.)  respecting  the 
Church  as  a  family  is  specially  applicable  to  her  chari-  q^^  family  of 
ties.  The  apostolic  Church  continued  the  family  idea  believers. 
which  had  been  so  prominent  during  the  ministry  of  Christ.  The 
sj^irit  of  communion,  first  realized  by  the  Church,  explains  the 
exceptional  provisions  made  for  the  early  relief  of  the  poor  and 
needy  disciples.  We  have  already  found  that  the  Lord's  Supper 
and  the  associated  lovefeasts  were  occasions  for  the  most  beautiful 
manifestations  of  the  common  interest  and  care.     Moreover,  the 

'  Uhlhorn :   Christian  Charity  in  the  Ancient  Church,  New  York,  1883,  p.  57. 
2  UhUiorn :   Op.  cit.,  p.  70. 


538  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

institution  of  a  class  of  officers  whose  special  business  was  to  have 
the  oversio-ht  of  funds  which  had  come  from  a  common  offering, 
shows  the  prominence  which  the  work  of  charity  had  assumed  in 
the  apostolic  Church.  This  is  in  no  way  changed,  whatever  theory 
of  the  diaconate  may  be  accepted;  not  even  if  the  management  of 
the  charitable  funds  was  never  entrusted  to  the  deacons,  but  was 
under  the  control  and  direction  of  the  elders  or  bishops.  The  em- 
phasis put  upon  the  idea  of  aid  to  the  poor  saints,  as  members  of  a 
community,  is  in  no  sense  lessened.  As  in  every  other  department 
of  activity,  so  here,  the  spirit,  at  first  prompting  the  early  Christ- 
ians to  a  spontaneous  relief  of  distress,  later  accomplished  its  work 
through  a  formal  organization.  The  old  Jewish  law  of  tithing  the 
income  is  nowhere  insisted  upon;  but  the  exhortation  is  to  imitate 
The  true  spirit  Christ's  example,  who  "  though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  your 
of  charity.  sakes  he  became  poor,  that  ye  through  his  poverty  might 

be  rich  "  (2  Cor.  viii,  9).  The  readiness  and  hearty  willingness  of  the 
offerings  is  the  test  of  the  religious  character  of  the  charity,  and  of 
its  acceptance  with  God;  he  who  gives  grudgingly  is  not  a  Christ- 
ian giver  at  all;  and  the  essence  and  proof  of  religion  is  ministration 
to  the  distressed  (2  Cor.  ix,  7;  viii,  2,  3;  James  i,  27,  et  al).  The 
same  spirit  is  shown  in  the  repeated  exhortations  to  hosjjitality  which 
are  found  in  the  New  Testament  writings.  The  frequent  passing  of 
members  of  the  Church  from  one  part  of  the  empire  to  another, 
usually  in  the  work  of  evangelism,  rendered  this  duty  most  pressing. 
Doubtless  in  this  respect  there  was  great  likeness  between  the  con- 
duct of  the  Christians  and  that  of  the  numerous  heathen  clubs,  since 
these  likewise  inculcated  the  duty  of  helpfulness  and  hosi^itality; 
but,  as  before  stated,  their  aid  was  wholly  confined  to  the  members 
of  the  guild. 

When  the  charities  of  the  Church  are  estimated  in  their  wider 
range,  it  becomes  important  to  study  the  business  and  financial  con- 
dition of  the  empire  during  the  first  two  centuries  of  its  history.  It 
has  been  customary  to  represent  this  as  prosperous  to  an  unusual 
Financial  pros-  degree.  The  evidence  is  convincing  that,  outside  of 
parity.  Rome,  the  proportion  of   citizens  who  were  liable  to 

pinching  poverty  was  less  than  at  the  present  time  in  northern 
Europe,  For  the  most  part  the  taxes  were  not  excessive,  food  was 
generally  abundant,  the  relation  of  labour  to  the  necessities  of  life 
was  more  advantageous  than  in  modern  Europe,  the  prices  of  provi- 
sions were  carefully  regulated  by  law,  so  that  no  such  rapid  and  dis- 
turbing fluctuations  were  possible  as  now  result  from  speculation 
and  from  a  system  of  extended  credits,  Friedlander  claims  that 
property  was  less  concentrated  than  at  present;  that  the  value  of 


CHARITIES  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  539 

the  largest  estates  in  the  time  of  the  early  empire,  even  when  slaves 
are  included  in  the  reckoning,  falls  far  below  that  of  Great  fortunes 
many  private  individuals  in  Europe  and  America  to-day.  ^^^^  ^^^°  '^^^• 
Only  two  persons  of  Rome  are  represented  as  having  a  property 
worth  more  than  $20,000,000,  and  the  incomes  of  the  most  wealthy 
Romans  during  the  first  four  and  a  half  centuries  of  the  empire  are 
greatly  excelled  by  those  of  the  families  of  Rothschild,  Bedford, 
Demidoff,  Astor,  and  Vanderbilt.' 

This  social  and  financial  condition  of  the  empire  during  the  first 
century  and  a  half  of  our  era  must  have  vitally  affected  f  i  •  «  . 

the  question  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  Christian  be-  ence  on  cUari- 
neficence.    Times  of  general  prosperity  call  for  the  estab-    ^^^' 
lishment  of  no  wide-reaching  charities;  the  spirit  of  the  Church  could 
find  expression  only  in  the  relief  of  isolated  cases  of  need,  while 
its  almsgiving  would  also  be  of  a  strongly  individual  character.^ 

But  the  seeds  of  dissolution  had  already  been  planted  in  the  em- 
pire. Before  the  middle  of  the  second  century  the  Adverse  influ- 
evils  of  slavery,  the  corresponding  contempt  for  labour,  ences. 
the  fearful  extravagance  of  the  nobility,  tlie  vast  sums  squandered 
on  the  public  games  and  shows,  the  absence  of  moral  restraint  ex- 
hibited in  the  case  of  divorce,  the  indifference  to  abortion,  infanti- 
cide, and  exposure  of  children,  and  the  fearfully  expensive  and  wasting 
wars,  had  seriously  weakened  the  empire.  From  these  causes  popu- 
lation was  seriously  decreasing,  and  poverty  set  in  where  a  half 
century  before  had  been  comparative  comfort.  To  pay  the  largely 
increased  taxes  many  fine  estates  had  been  forfeited,  thus  concen- 
trating property  into  fewer  hands,  and  bringing  as  necessary  conse- 
quences extravagant  luxury  and  the  oppression  of  the  smaller  traders 
through  excessive  usury.  The  only  means  of  defence  was  in  the 
organization  of  guilds,  which  were  recognised  by  the  state,  and  be- 
came, in  a  sense,  the  servants  of  the  government.  In  these  more 
trying  times  greater  demands  were  manifestly  made  upon  the  chari- 
ties of  the  Church.  The  teachings  of  the  Christian  fathers  prior  to 
Cyprian  plainly  reveal  the  nature  and  extent  of  these  good  works. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  collegia,  and  of  the  spirit  which  ani- 
mated them.  It  is  important  to  notice  wherein  the  Christian  Church, 
in  some  respects  so  closely  resembling  a  heathen  religious  guild,  dif- 
fered from  it  in  its  method  of  relief  of  the  unfortunate.  Certainly  the 
uniform  teachinar  of  the  first  two  hundred  years  is  to  arive   „^  .  , 

^ ,  .  ....  Chnstlan  char- 

to  those  who  are  in  need,  without  careful  discrimination   ity  broad  and 

as  to  whether  the  recipient  was  a  member  of  the  Church  ^^^^^^  • 

or  a  heathen.     Justin  Martyr  and  Clement  of  Alexandria  are  in  en- 

'  SittengescMchte  Eoms,  Bd.  iii,  ss.  11-14.  '  Uhlhorn:    Op.  cit.,  p.  105. 

35 


540  ARCHEOLOGY   OF  CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

tire  accord  touching  the  duty  of  a  common  charity.  Many  passages 
from  these  and  other  writers  are  plain  and  positive.  In  the  Shep- 
herd of  Hermas  occurs  this  characteristic  teaching:  "  Practice  good- 
ness; and  from  the  rewards  of  your  labours,  which  God  gives  you, 
give  to  all  the  needy  in  simplicity,  not  hesitating  as  to  whom  you 
are  to  give  or  not  to  give.  Give  to  all,  for  God  wishes  his  gifts  to 
be  shared  amongst  all.  They  who  receive  will  render  an  account  to 
God  wh}^  and  for  what  they  have  received.  For  the  afflicted  who 
receive  will  not  be  condemned,  but  they  who  receive  on  false  pre- 
tences will  suffer  punishment.  He,  then,  who  gives  is  blameless." ' 
This  injunction  plainly  has  reference  to  private  almsgiving,  and 
seems  to  have  no  application  to  that  more  systematic  benelicence 
which  was  bestowed  upon  the  needy  members  of  the  Church 
through  organized  channels.  The  giving  was  spontaneous,  free,  not 
of  their  abundance,  but  from  their  scanty  earnings. 

The  peculiar  organization  of  the  Churches  also  provided  for  sys- 
tematic and  widereaching  charities.     Not  only  were  the 
Also  wide-ex-  ^  .  •' 

tended  through  needy  of  individual  congregations  relieved  by  the  obla- 
organization.  i{q^^  offered  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  but  special  collections 
were  made  for  the  relief  of  distress  in  distant  provinces.  Already 
in  the  apostolic  age  community  of  interest  was  shown  by  forward- 
ing considerable  sums  of  money,  gathered  from  wide  districts  of 
country,  to  relieve  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem  (Rom.  xv,  25,  26; 
1  Cor.  XV,  1-4).  The  expression  "them  of  Macedonia  and  Achaia" 
seems  to  include  many  of  the  most  prosperous  churches  which  had 
been  established  through  Paul's  instrumentality,  and  indicates  the 
nature  and  extent  of  these  offerings.  The  churches  of  the  first  two 
and  a  half  centuries  may  be  regarded  as  so  many  compact  organiza- 
tions for  charitable  work.  Its  oversight  being  entrusted  to  the  bish- 
ops, there  was  an  immediateness  and  directness  of  relief  which 
otherwise  were  not  possible.  The  close  affiliations  of  the  bishops 
Gifts  easily  con-  with  each  other,  and  the  system  of  circular  letters  which 
relief  of  dis-  ^^^  been  adopted,  enabled  the  entire  Church  to  concen- 
tress.  trate  its  gifts  upon  a  single  locality  which  had  been  vis- 

ited with  sudden  or  peculiar  distress.     Moreover,  the  association  of 
the  bishop  with  sub-helpers,  as  elders,  deacons,  the  widows  and  the 
deaconesses,  allowed  of  faithful  and  minute  supervision,  and  of  a 
consequent  wise  and  economical  administration  of  the  charities.     It 
is  plain  that  the  deaconesses  had  other  duties  than  those 
of  keepers  of  the  entrances  of  the  church  appointed  for 
women,  or  even  as  assistants  in  baptism,  or  instructors  of  candidates; 
they  were  employed  in  those  works  of  charity  and  relief  where  hea- 
'  Book  ii,  Mandata,  ii. 


CHARITIES  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  541 

then  public  opinion  would  not  permit  the  presence  of  the  deacons. 
"  Ordain  also  a  deaconess  who  is  faithful  and  holy,  for  the  ministra- 
tions toward  women.  For  sometimes  he  cannot  send  a  deacon,  who 
is  a  man,  to  the  women,  on  account  of  unbelievers.  Thou  shalt 
therefore  send  a  woman,  a  deaconess,  on  account  of  the  imaginations 
of  the  bad."  *  Thus  the  number  and  variety  of  officers  enabled  the 
early  Church  to  reach  all  classes,  and  to  have  complete  knowledge 
of  the  personal  needs  of  its  members. 

Another  question  which  has  been  earnestly  discussed  is  the  influ- 
ence of  the  early  Christian  system  of  charities  upon  pau-   influence     of 

perism  and  self-help.  It  has  been  charged  that  it  fostered  ^'>"^^^'^°  ^^^^' 
i  .  .  ity  on  pauper- 

dependence,  and  that  its  ultimate  result  was  to  add  to   ism. 

the  pauper  population.  The  question  is  beset  with  difficulties,  be- 
cause of  insufHcient  data  from  which  to  form  a  judgment.  The  lack 
of  official  statistics,  with  reference  both  to  the  Roman  government 
and  to  ecclesiastical  activities,  renders  the  question  wellnigh  insolu- 
ble. That  promiscuous  relief  of  the  poor,  disconnected  from  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  the  needs  of  the  beneficiary,  tends  to  helplessness 
and  increasing  poverty  is  everywhere  confessed.  The  presumption 
is  certainly  very  strong  that  this  defect  could  not,  however,  attach 
to  the  early  Christian  charities.  While,  as  has  been  noted,  a 
generous  and  helpful  spirit  toward  all  was  clearly  taught,  the  thor- 
oughness of  organization  and  administration  afforded  the  best  possi- 
ble guarantee  of  worthy  bestowment  of  aid.  First,  accurate  lists 
were  kept  of  those  who  received  stated  assistance,  so  Guards  against 
that  immediate  and  thorough  inspection  was  possible.  ^^.^  T/.^*^^"'^^ 
Second,  the  aid  afforded  was  usually  of  the  necessaries  ence. 
of  life.  Third,  the  support  of  such  as  had  abandoned  a  trade,  or 
otherwise  suffered  peculiar  hardship  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  was  of  a 
simple  and  inexpensive  nature,  thus  reducing  to  a  minimum  the 
temptation  to  deception  and  fi'aud.  Fourth,  the  special  pains  to 
have  orphans  of  Christian  parents  adopted  by  childless  couples,  and 
trained  in  habits  of  industry, '^  was  a  most  beneficent  provision  which 
kept  alive  the  spirit  of  purest  charity,  and  most  effectually  guarded 
against  the  increase  of  pauperism.  Fifth,  the  solemn  charge  to 
bishops  that  they  be  solicitous  to  aid  the  truly  needy,  but  at  the 
same  time  do  all  in  their  power  to  place  every  body,  so  far  as  possi- 
ble, in  a  condition  of  self-help.  The  language  of  the  Constitutions 
is  noteworthy:  "O  bishops,  be  solicitous  about  their  charge  to  the 
maintenance,  being  in  nothing  wanting  to  them;  exhib-  bishops. 
iting  to  orphans  the  care  of  parents;  to  the  widows  the  care  of  hus- 
bands; to  those  of  suitable  age,  marriage;  to  the  artificer,  work;  to 
'  Const.  Apost.,  1.  iii,  c.  15.  ^  Const.  Apost.,  1.  iv,  c.  1. 


542  ARCHEOLOGY   OF   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

the  disabled,  commiseration;  to  the  strangers,  a  house;  to  the  hun- 
gry, food;  to  the  thirsty,  drink;  to  the  naked,  clothing;  to  the  sick, 
visitation;  to  the  prisoners,  assistance;  .  .  .  to  the  young  man,  assist- 
ance that  he  may  learn  a  trade,  and  may  be  maintained  by  the  advan- 
tage arising  from  it,  .  .  .  that  so  he  may  no  longer  burden  any  of  the 
brethren;  .  ,  .  for  certainly  he  is  a  happy  man  who  is  able  to  support 
himself,  and  does  not  take  up  the  place  of  the  orphan,  the  stranger, 
and  the  widow." '  These  considerations,  among  many  others,  would 
seem  to  show  that  the  methods  of  the  Christian  Church,  prior  to  the 
rise  and  prevalence  of  monasticism,  were  well  calculated  to  keep  alive 
a  genuine  charity,  and  foster  a  spirit  of  independence  and  self-help. 
Probably   the   times   of    persecution   and   of   public   misfortune 

,    .,.       afforded  the  occasions  for  the  most  impressive  exempli- 
Opportunities  .     .  ttti  -i       i 

for  Christian  fication  of  the  Christian  law  of  love.  While  the  perse- 
charities.  cutions  of  the  Church  were  for  the  most  part  local,  and 

grew  out  of  a  peculiar  combination  of  circumstances,  they  were 
often  sharp  and  peculiarly  afflictive.  The  suffering  arose  from  the 
confiscation  of  property,  from  its  ruthless  destruction  through  pop- 
ular outbreaks,  from  loss  of  business,  and  often  from  exile,  imprison- 
ment, or  death  of  those  who  were  the  natural  guardians  of  families. 
The  records  and  the  inscriptions  alike  tell  a  story  honourable  to  the 
heroism  and  to  the  patient  sacrifice  of  the  Church.     In  the  Decian 

persecution,  which    proved   so    disastrous,    those   who 
In  persecutions.  i        •  i     -■  T  •  •  t    • 

were   banished    to   the  mines,  or   immured  m   prisons 

in  Carthage,  were  tenderly  cared  for  by  the  whole  body  of  be- 
lievers. Cyprian  is  most  earnest  in  his  words  and  labours  to  re- 
lieve the  wants  of  such  as  were  under  special  temptation  to  aposta- 
sy. Persons  cast  into  prison  on  account  of  their  faith  were  visited, 
and  supplied  with  necessary  provisions.  The  unfortunate  men  who 
were  condemned  to  the  mines,  and  who  were  compelled  to  submit 
to  the  cruelty  of  harsh,  unfeeling  masters,  were  not  forgotten  by 
the  sympathizing  Church.  The  deeper  the  misery  and  the  greater 
the  peril  the  more  brightly  shone  the  light  of  charity,  and  extraor- 
dinary care  was  bestowed  upon  those  whose  lot  was  peculiarly  trying. 
The  charities  at  such  times  were  generous  and  methodical.' 

So,  too,  in  times  of  great  public  misfortune.  During  the  third 
intimesofpub-  century  the  empire  was  visited  by  a  series  of  fearful  ca- 
uc  misfortune,  lamities,  in  which  the  contrast  between  Christian  and 
heathen  charity  was  made  most  conspicuous.     The  fatal  pestilence 

I   ^  ^^  which  appeared  in  different  districts  dissolved  all  nat- 

In  Cartbasre.  ^     •  t     r^ 

ural  ties.    In  Carthage  there  was  a  general  panic.     "All 

were  shuddering,  fleeing,   shunning  the  contagion,   impiously  ex- 

'  Const.  Apost.,  1.  iv,  c.  2.  ^  Cyprian :  Epi.tt.  xxxvi,  ad  Clerum. 


CHARITIES  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  543 

posing  their  own  friends,  as  if  with  exclusion  of  the  person  who  was 
sure  to  die  of  the  jjlague  one  could  exclude  death  also.  .  .  .  No  one 
regarded  any  thing  besides  his  cruel  gains.  .  .  .  No  one  did  for  an- 
other what  he  himself  wished  to  experience."  '  The  biographer  of 
Cyprian  speaks  of  his  exhortations  in  the  midst  of  the  pestilence: 
that  the  Christians  should  not  succour  their  own  brethren  alone,  but 
all  alike;  that  this  was  the  Father's  method,  and  the  children  must 
be  like  the  Father.'*  In  conformity  to  this  spirit  the  Christians  ral- 
lied to  assist,  some  by  their  money,  many  more  by  their  labours,  in 
caring  for  the  sick  and  burying  the  dead,  until  the  calamity  was 
stayed.  Like  scenes  were  witnessed  in  the  midst  of  the 
pestilence  at  Alexandria.  The  letter  of  Dionysius,  then 
bishop,  as  found  in  Eusebius,  gives  a  most  graphic  picture  of  the 
difference  of  the  behaviour  of  Christians  and  heathen  in  the  midst  of 
this  awful  visitation.  "  They  (the  Christians)  took  up  the  bodies  of 
the  saints  with  their  open  hands,  and  on  their  bosoms,  cleansed  their 
eyes  and  closed  their  mouths,  carried  them  on  their  shoulders,  and 
composed  their  limbs,  embraced,  clung  to  them,  and  prepared  them 
decently  with  Avashing  and  garments;  and  erelong  they  themselves 
shared  in  the  same  offices.  Those  that  survived  always  followed 
those  before  them.  Among  the  heathen  it  was  just  the  reverse. 
They  both  repelled  those  who  began  to  be  sick  and  avoided  their 
nearest  friends.  They  would  cast  them  out  into  the  roads  half  dead, 
or  throw  them,  when  dead,  without  burial,"  etc'  These  deeds  of 
mercy  and  of  charitable  relief  were  found  in  all  departments  of 
activity,  and  the  teachings  and  practice  of  the  Church  were  such  as 
to  profoundly  impress  the  most  stubborn  opponents. 

Few  can  doubt  that  the  nature  of  Christian  charities  was  changed 

both  by  the  conflict  with  Montanism,  and  by  the  srrowth 

•'.  •        n  Pnnciples  ad- 

of  the  principle  oi  the  merit  of  good  works  which  had   verse  to  Christ- 
taken  firm  root  in  the  Church  by  the  middle  of  the  third  '^°  charity, 
century.     With  all  its  wild  extravagance,  Montanism  was  also  a  pro- 
test against  the  prevailing  laxity  of  discipline,  and  the  eas}^  morals 
which  had  begun  to  rob  the  Church  of  her  greatest  efficiency.    In  so 
far  Montanism  contained  a  valuable  element.     But  in  the  attempt  to 
purify  the  Church  by  simple  discipline  lay  a  radical  error.    In  merely 
withdrawing  from  the  world,  in  forbidding  any  commingling  with 
sinful  humanity,  in  regarding  all  things  forbidden  w  hich  are  not 
expressly  allowed,  Montanism  was  introducing  into  the 
Church  what  is  contradictory  to  the  principles  which 
Christ  had   most  clearly  inculcated.     The    lofty  exclusiveness   of 
this  heresy  savoured  of  a  spiritual  pride,  and  would  separate  its 
>  Vita  Cypriani,  c.  9.  '  Ibid.,  c.  10.  ^  Eusebius:  Hist.  Ecd.,  1.  7,  c.  22. 


544  ARCHAEOLOGY  OF   (CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

votaries  from  a  fallen  world  which  it  was  the  real  mission  of  ChriB- 
tianity  to  restore.  In  its  conflict  with  this  stubborn  heresy  the 
Church  passed  beyond  the  sober  mean  into  the  opposite  extreme.  In 
the  attempt  to  meet  the  social  and  intellectual  forces  of  the  empire, 
and  brinsj:  them  into  subjection,  the  strictness  of  discipline  Avas  re- 
laxed, and  the  Church  became  more  and  more  conformed  to  the  preva- 
lent spirit,  until  she  was  too  often  content  with  the  mere  ceremonial 
Doctrine  of  without  the  inspiring  spirit  of  worship.  The  growing 
Bood  works.  strength  of  the  doctrine  of  good  works,  which  finds  ex- 
pression in  Origen  and  Cyprian,  and  the  substitution  of  a  special 
priesthood,  whose  functions  were  of  peculiar  sanctity,  for  the  doc- 
trine of  the  priesthood  of  all  believers  who  were  each  and  all  called  to 
a  high  and  holy  calling,  tended  to  tarnish  the  charities  of  the  Church. 
No  longer  was  the  simjole  love  of  Christ  the  inspiration  of  Christian 
beneficence;  but  the  motive  of  personal  advantage  to  the  giver  in- 
troduced into  the  work  of  the  Church  that  selfish  element  which  had 
tainted  the  charities  of  the  heathen  guilds.  Thus  the  gifts  which  had 
before  been  so  bountifully  bestowed  by  individuals  were  now  left  to 
the  care  of  the  Church  officiary,  and  almsgiving  was  now  practised 
for  the  benefit  which  might  inure  to  the  donor.  Also  the  transition 
from  the  simple  congregational  episcopacy  to  the  more  formal  and 
stately  diocesan  government,  tended  to  confound  pure  charity 
with  a  kind  of  perfunctory  service  which  was  delegated  to  chosen 
officials  who  must  deal  with  masses  rather  than  with  individual 
sufferers. 

The  recognition  of  the  Church  by  the  State  was  a  most  important 
influenceofun-  ^^^^  "^  ^^^^  history  of  Christian  charities.  Constantine 
Ion  of  Church  had  become  convinced  of  the  superiority^  of  the  work  of 
the  Church,  and  had  largely  added  to  her  available  re- 
sources. As  the  churches  became  more  magnificent,  and  public  wor- 
ship more  stately  through  the  use  of  imposing  liturgies,  so  the  means 
for  beneficent  work  were  greatly  multiplied.  But  this  increase  of 
the  wealth  of  the  Church  was  at  the  expense  of  the  State.  The  finan- 
cial condition  of  the  empire  was  deplorable.  Industries  were  in  a 
state  of  decline.  The  later  retirement  of  multitudes  to  the  monastic 
life  withdrew  an  immense  productive  force  from  society,  and  the  fur- 
ther exemption  of  the  Church  properties  from  taxation  added  to  the 
burdens  of  the  remaining  citizens.  Resistance  to  the  inroads  of  the 
barbarian  tribes  brought  a  further  strain  upon  the  tottering  empire, 
while  in  the  track  of  these  invading  hordes  were  ruin  and  appalling 
want.  The  opportunities  for  the  charitable  work  of  the  Church  thus 
multiplied  on  every  hand.  Nor  were  the  means  wanting.  Immense 
sums  were  poured  into  her  treasuries,  but  these  were  largely  in  the 


CHARITIES  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.  545 

form  of  alms,  and  did  not  come,  as  before,  from  the  free  Decay  of  pure 
oblations  made  at  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Suppei*.  chanties. 
The  decay  of  spiritual  life  caused  the  churches  to  be  unvisited  by  the 
masses  of  the  people,  so  that  in  the  writings  of  the  great  leaders  and 
preachers  are  found  bitter  complaints  that  the  eucharist  was  neg- 
lected for  the  sake  of  the  circus  or  the  theatre,  and  that  the  oblations 
were  greatly  diminished. 

The  theory  that  the  property  of  the  Church  is  for  the  good  of 
the  poor  was  still  recognised,  and  many  of  the  high  officials  gave 
all  their  private  fortunes  into  her  coffers.  The  constantly  strength- 
ening doctrine  that  almsgiving  ranked  with  fasting  and  prayer 
as  a  means  of  salvation,  and  had,  therefore,  a  highly  meritorious 
power,  further  added  to  the  resources  available  for  Church  charities. 
Nor  was  the  Church  an  unfaithful  steward.  A  new  species  of  char- 
ities, in  the  form  of  hospitals,  appeared  during  the  reign  Rise  of  hospi- 
of  Constantine.  The  exact  time  of  their  origin  is  not  '^^'^• 
known ;  but  the  presumption  is  strong  that  the  establishments 
ordered  by  Julian,  during  his  attempt  to  restore  heathenism,  were  in 
imitation  of  what  had  already  become  familiar  to  the  Christians. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  from  the  last  half  of  the  fourth  to  the 
sixth  century  great  numbers  of  these  charities  were  founded,  and 
were  the  means  of  alleviating  the  distresses  of  multitudes  of  the 
poor  and  impotent.  They  spread  from  the  east  to  the  west,  where 
they  at  first  seem  to  have  been  much  fewer,  and  to  have  been  held 
in  lower  esteem.  So  numerous  and  varied  were  the  hospitals  in 
the  Eastern  Empire  that  special  legislation  was  required  for  their 
regulation  and  control.  Though  sometimes  the  centres  of  fearful 
immoralities,  they  often  furnished  opportunities  of  labor  for  worthy 
men  and  women,  and  were  places  of  refuge  for  the  unfortunate  in 
the  chaotic  times  succeeding  the  downfall  of  the  Empire. 


546  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  RELATIONS  OF  THE  EARLY  CHURCH  TO  EDUCATION  AND  GEN- 
ERAL CULTURE. 

What  were  the  intellectual  training  and  attainments  of  "  the 
The  culture  of  Twelve,"  and  of  Christ's  immediate  disciples,  it  is  diffi- 
the  apostles.  q^^ii  iq  determine.  It  has  been  quite  common  to  repre- 
sent them  as  obscure  and  unlettered  fishermen,  or  common  toilers 
who  belonged  to  a  despised  province,  were  unacquainted  with  human 
philosophy,  and  were  untouched  by  the  current  discussions.  Some 
facts  of  the  gospel  history,  and  some  expressions  of  Christ  and  of 
Paul,  seem  to  justify  this  view.  "  For  ye  see  your  calling,  breth- 
ren, how  that  not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  ov  noXXoi  ao(pol 
Kara  adpKa,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble,  evyevelg,  are  called. 
But  God  has  chosen  the  foolish,  rd  fj,u)pd,  things  of  the  world  to  con- 
found the  wise,  rovg  ao(povq,''^  etc.  (I  Cor.  i,  26-28).  This  expression 
would,  however,  imply  that  some  of   "  the  called  "  were  of  another 

„  .  ,     type:  and  in  the  history  of  the  apostolic  Church  are 
Some    officials      -^  i     '  p  i  •    i  •  •         i       i    •       i 

were     Christ-  mentioned  a  few  men  of  high  position,  both  in  the  em- 

*^°^'  pire  and  in  the  Jewish  Church,  who  had  accepted  Chris- 

tianity (Acts  xiii,  12;  xviii,  8;  xxii,  3;  Rom.  xvi,  23).  While  the 
Gospel  was  indeed  "  good  news  "  to  the  uneducated,  the  low-born, 
and  the  obscure,  who  felt  the  need  of  a  deliverer,  it  should  not  be  too 
hastily  inferred  that  the  first  called  apostles  were  necessarily  illiter- 
Couid  read  the  ate.  The  frequent  appeals  of  Christ  to  the  law  show 
^^"^-  that  his  apostles  were  familiar  with  and  able  to  read  it. 

Josephus  and  Philo  agree  in  saying  that  great  importance  was 
attached  to  the  reading  of  the  law.  The  noted  expression  of  Jose- 
phus, "If  any  one  should  question  one  of  us  concerning  the  laws,  he 
would  more  easily  repeat  all  than  his  own  name,"  shows  that  his 
further  statement  must  be  true,  that  "  from  our  first  consciousness 
we  have  them,  as  it  were,  engraven  on  our  souls." '  He  fre- 
quently mentions  the  zeal  manifested  by  the  Jews  in  the  instruction 
of  their  children  in  the  law,  and  claims  that  Moses  commanded  to 
teach  them  in  the  elements  of  knowledge,  that  they  might  walk 
according  to  the  holy  statutes,  and  not  transgress  them.     At  the 

'  Apion,  ii,  18 


RELATIONS  TO  EDUCATION  AND  GENERAL  CULTURE.     547 

advent  of  Christ,  schools  had  been  founded  by  the  Jew-  schools  in  the 
ish  communities  for  the  instruction  of  the  children  in  '■i"'®  °^  Christ. 
the  elements  of  knowledge;  but  the  ultimate  object  of  these  was  to 
teach  the  law.  The  purpose  of  the  elementary  school  was,  there- 
fore, to  prepare  the  pupils  to  read  it,  since  great  stress  was  laid  upon 
the  reading  in  contradistinction  from  mere  oral  instruction.'  The 
further  duty  of  children  to  keep  the  Sabbath,  to  observe  the  great 
fasts,  to  join  in  the  praj^ers  in  the  family  worship  and  at  the  table, 
and  to  attend  the  national  festivals,  necessarily  furnished  invaluable 
opportunities  for  a  knowledge  of  the  law,  and  for  familiarity  with 
the  national  history. 

The  education  thus  carefully  begun  was  continued  by  means  of 
the  services  of  the  synagogue.  This  becomes  more  ira-  The  synagogue 
portant  from  the  fact  that  the  synagogues  were  prima-  y^^^"  inst^tu- 
rily  places  for  religious  instruction,  and  not,  in  the  strict  tion. 
sense  of  the  term,  for  worship.  Hence  Philo  calls  them  "  houses  of 
instruction,"  where  the  law  and  its  sacred  observance  were  incul- 
cated. The  further  fact  that  in  the  smaller  towns,  where  the  Jew- 
ish element  was  largely  in  excess,  the  town  senate  probably  united 
in  themselves  both  religious  and  civil  authority,  would  add  to  the 
importance  of  the  synagogues  as  educational  institutions.  More- 
over, the  free  method  of  conducting  the  services  in  these  places  of 
meeting  must  have  been  a  further  means  of  stimulating  thought  and 
of  disseminating  knowledge.  While  there  was  a  chief  officer,  apxi-- 
ovvdyojyog,  who  cared  for  the  general  order  of  services,  preaching, 
and  prayer,  no  officials  were  appointed;  any  one,  even  minors,  might 
read  the  Scriptures,  and  every  adult  member  of  the  congregation 
Avas  competent  to  lead  in  prayer  and  expound  the  lessons.  On  Sab- 
bath days  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue  was  accustomed  to  invite  sev- 
eral, generall}^  not  less  than  seven,  to  take  part  in  the  reading,  thus 
increasing  the  number  of  interested  partakers  in  the  service,  and  of 
persons  who  were  able  to  pronounce  the  sacred  text;  while  either 
the  readers  themselves,  or  some  competent  members  of  the  congre- 
gation, accompanied  the  reading  with  a  continued  translation  into 
the  Aramaic,  Avhich  was  the  dialect  understood  by  the  bulk  of  the 
common  people. 

The  importance  which  is  attached  to  teaching  in  the  writings 
of  Paul  is  pertinent  to  an  inquiry  respecting  the  The  teaching 
degree  of  intelligence  among  the  early  Christians.  It  function, 
is  interesting  to  notice  the  emphasis  which  is  laid  upon  this 
function,  SiddaK.ew,  dtdaaicaXia,  in  the  writings  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament.     By   Paul  it  is   mentioned    with    prophecy,    ministering, 

'  V.  Schiirer:   The  Jeioish  People  in  the  Time  of  Jesus  Christ,  vol.  ii,  div.  ii,  p.  50. 


548  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

exhortation,  giving,  and  ruling  (Rom.  xii,  6-8).  Teaching,  6i- 
daoKaXia,  is  elsewhere  (1  Cor.  xii,  28)  third  in  the  enumeration  of 
special  charisms,  outranking  even  miracles,  Svvdfietg,  gifts  of  heal- 
ing, helps,  governments,  and  diversities  of  tongues.  This  is  not  to 
be  accounted  as  merely  the  opinion  of  an  apostle  whose  oppor- 
tunities for  understanding  contemporary  thought,  both  Jewish  and 
Christ's  meth-  P^'g''*^'^?  ^^^^  been  exceptional,  but  rather  it  is  in  accord 
od-  with  the  method  of  Christ  himself,  whose  ministry  was 

largely  a  ministry  of  teaching.  Whether  going  about  all  Galilee 
(Matt,  iv,  23;  Luke  xiii,  10),  or  through  all  Jewry  (Luke  xxiii,  5), 
or  sitting  daily  in  the  temple  (Matt,  xxvi,  5;  John  vii,  14),  or  ad- 
dressing his  more  immediate  disciples  on  the  deeper  meaning  of  the 
law  (Matt.  V,  2),  or  in  the  more  astounding  miracles  which  he 
wrought,  or  in  the  foremost  place  given  to  teaching  in  the  great 
commission,  Jesus  everywhere  recognises  the  prime  importance  of 
instructing  men  in  regard  to  the  truths  pertaining  to  his  kingdom. 

Closely  connected  with  this  is  the  character  of  the  epistles  which 
Exalted  char-  the  apostles  addressed  to  the  various  churches  respect- 

acter   of   the   •       doctrines  and  duties.     It  must  be  recollected  that 

apostolic  writ-        >^ 

ings.  most  of  these  letters  .were  written  to  infant  societies 

within  a  generation  from  the  crucifixion  of  Christ,  that  they  were 
addressed  to  men  and  women  who  may  represent  the  average  cult- 
ure of  the  Church,  before  it  was  compelled  to  adjust  itself  to  the  new 
conditions  which  persecutions  or  imperial  patronage  afterward  cre- 
ated. It  is  true  that  the  great  body  of  the  matter  of  these  epistles 
is  truth  of  an  eminently  practical  character,  easily  understood,  and 
well  suited  to  establish  the  community  of  believers  in  faith  and  all 
holy  living.  But  when  we  studj'"  some  portions  of  Paul's  letters  to 
the  Romans,  to  the  Galatians,  and  to  the  Corinthians,  or  the  epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  we  are  confronted  with  discussions  of  some  of  the 
most  abstruse  j^roblems  of  religious  philosophy,  to  whose  interpreta- 
tion the  best  minds  of  the  Christian  centuries  have  been  devoted. 
The  profound  teachings  of  this  apostle  respecting  the  relation  of  the 
Jewish  economy  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven  among  men,  the  failure 
of  natural  religion  to  bring  salvation,  the  bondage  of  the  fallen  man 
to  sin,  the  relations  of  law  to  grace,  the  justification  of  the  soul  by 
faith,  the  subtle  truths  pertaining  to  the  resurrection  body,  and  the 
final  triumph  of  the  redeemed  man,  must  be  accounted  among  the 
most  important  and  difficult  themes  which  can  engage  human 
thought.  Peter  speaks  of  some  things  in  these  letters  as  "  hard  to 
be  understood,  dvavorjra,  which  they  that  are  unlearned,  ol  djuadelg, 
and  unstable  wrest,  as  they  do  also  the  other  Scriptures,  unto  their 
own  destruction"  (2  Pet.  iii,  16).     But  it  is  not  presumable  that  at. 


RELATIONS  TO  EDUCATION  AND  GENERAL  CULTURE.  549 

apostle  would  write  in  language  not  capable  of  being  appreciated 
either  by  the  mass  of  the  disciples,  or  by  those  who  had  special 
direction  of  their  religious  education,  thus  defeating  the  very  pur- 
pose of  the  epistles.  Hence  we  are  led  to  believe  that  in  the  apos- 
tolic Church  there  must  have  been  a  fair  proportion  of  men  and 
women  to  whom  the  deeper  and  more  abstruse  discussions  of  Paul 
were  not  only  intelligible,  but  were  the  means  of  moral  and  religious 
edification. 

In  the  examination  of  a  question  respecting  which  so  little  evi- 
dence survives,  the  Christian  idea  of  the  family,  and  the 

'  -^^  The  Christian 

sacred  duty  of  care  tor  children,  to  which  reference  has  duty  to  the 
elsewhere  been  made  (Book  IV,  chap,  i),  must  not  be  ^^"^''y- 
omitted.  The  effect  of  Christianity  was  the  awakening  and  quick- 
ening of  the  intellectual  and  moral  powers.  With  new  views  of  duty 
and  destiny  came  new  motives  to  care  for  the  young.  The  very  at- 
mosphere of  the  Christian  household  was  redolent  of  influences  most 
truly  stimulating  and  ennobling.  The  mother  nourished  the  child, 
the  community  cared  for  the  orphaned.  The  simplicity  of  tastes,  so 
uniformly  inculcated  by  the  Christian  fathers,  turned  the  thoughts 
from  the  merely  outward  and  accidental  to  the  spiritual  and  essen- 
tial. The  family  education  must,  therefore,  have  been  of  extreme 
importance,  and  had  its  root  in  the  very  genius  of  the  Christian  sys- 
tem. The  duty  to  behave  toward  each  other  in  a  manner  mutually 
helpful  and  saving,  because  each  belonged  to  a  family  with  God  as 
father,  was  solemn  and  imperative,  thus  furnishing  the  necessary 
conditions  of  the  truest  and  fullest  education. 

For  merely  secular  education  the  Christians  of  the  first  and  sec- 
ond centuries  depended  upon  heathen  schools.  These  xhe  secular 
wei'e  accessible  to  those  who  could  pay  a  moderate  price  schools. 
for  instruction,  since  the  calling  of  a  common  teacher  in  the  second 
century  was  regarded  as  one  of  great  toil  and  of  very  limited  in- 
come. Liberal  emperors  had  encouraged  education,  and  numerous 
schools  had  been  established  under  their  auspices.  Julius  Caesar 
had  attracted  many  Greek  teachers  to  Rome,  where  instruction  in 
the  language  was  greatly  coveted,  and  Augustus  became  a  liberal 
patron  of  polite  learning.  In  the  second  century  Antoninus  Pius 
had  provided  for  the  establishment  of  schools  in  all  parts  of  the  em- 
pire, sustaining  at  the  public  expense  ten  teachers  of  medicine,  five 
rhetoricians,  and  five  grammarians  in  the  largest  cities;  seven  teach- 
ers of  medicine,  four  rhetoricians,  and  four  grammarians  in  those  of 
medium  population;  and  five  teachers  of  medicine,  three  rheto- 
ricians, and  three  grammarians  in  the  smaller  towns.^  While  these 
>  Friedliinder:  Bd.  i,  s.  281. 


550  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

provisions  were  entirely  inadequate  to  satisfy  the  public  needs,  tliey 
nevertheless  encouraged  the  citizens  of  the  empire  to  greater  efforts 
Education  de-  for  the  care  of  their  children.  But  the  interest  in  edu- 
ciining.  cation  was  already  declining.     There  had  been  a  marked 

decadence  since  the  beginning  of  the  first  century.  The  military 
and  civil  service  had  fallen  more  and  more  into  the  hands  of  the 
low-born,  and  thus  the  need  of  culture  as  a  preparation  for  public 
life  was  felt  to  be  less  urgent.  In  the  West  a  vicious  pronunciation 
became  increasingly  prevalent,  and  many  proofs  of  growing  illiter- 
acy and  vulgarity  are  still  preserved  in  the  literature  and  in  the  in- 
scriptions. It  is  said  that  while  quaestor,  Hadrian,  during  the  read- 
ing of  an  address,  was  derided  by  the  senators  on  account  of  his 
blunders  in  the  use  of  the  language,  and  that  M.  Aurelius  was  not 
understood  when  he  gave  commands  in  Latin,  because  his  elegant 
pronunciation  was  entirely  foreign  to  his  officers.' 

The  feelings  of  the  Christians  respecting  the  attendance  upon  the 
^    ^  iDagan  schools  were  various.     It  was  impossible  for  their 

Embarrass-    ^p  ^  t' 

ments  of  the  children  to  gain  the  elements  of  a  secular  education  else- 
us  lans.  where,  since  the  condition  of  the  first  Christians  forbade 
the  establishment  of  separate  schools.  The  slender  testimony  extant 
leads  to  the  conclusion  that  Christian  parents  were  accustomed  to 
patronize  the  heathen  teachers.  Yet  the  early  fathers  are  perplexed 
Tertuuian's  with  the  problem.  Especially  Tertullian  recognises  the 
views.  serious  embarrassments  felt  by  both  pupils  and  school- 

masters. He  sees  in  the  teaching  of  the  schools,  as  in  other  kinds  of 
business,  the  taint  of  idolatiy.  He  discriminates,  however,  between 
teaching  and  learning  the  heathen  literature.  "  Learning  literature 
is  allowable  for  believers,  rather  than  teaching,  for  the  principle  of 
learning  and  of  teaching  is  different.  If  a  believer  teach  literature, 
while  he  is  teaching  doubtless  he  commends,  while  he  delivers  he 
affirms,  while  he  recalls  he  bears  testimony  to,  the  praises  of  idols 
interspersed  therein.  .  .  .  But  when  a  believer  learns  these  things, 
if  he  is  already  capable  of  understanding  what  idolatry  is,  he  neither 
receives  nor  allows  them;  much  more  if  he  is  not  yet  capable." " 
He  therefore  hesitates  to  condemn  the  patronizing  of  the  heathen 
schools  by  the  Christian,  because  "  to  him  necessity  is  attributed 
as  an  excuse,  because  he  has  no  other  way  to  learn."  ^  Cyprian  is 
firm  in  enforcing  the  differences  between  Christian  and  heathen 
morality;"  and  it  is  clear  from  the  taunts  of  Celsus  that  in  his 
day  there  was  among  the  Christians  a  widespread  inattention,  and 
even  repugnance,  to  heathen  learning. 

'  Friedliinder:   Op.  at.,  Bd.  iii,  ss.  352,  353. 

2  de  Idol,  c.  10.  3  jiij  4  rtc?  Anton.,  c.  16. 


I 


RELATIONS  TO  EDUCATION  AND  GENERAL  CULTURE.     551 

The  earliest  educational  institution  in  the  Church  was  the  cate- 
chumenate.  This  was  not  intended  for  children  only,  jhe  catechu- 
but  for  all  who  would  be  admitted  to  full  membership,  senate, 
and  to  a  complete  enjoyment  of  Church  privileges.  Primarily  this 
had  reference  to  instruction  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  faith, 
and  it  is  probable  that  little,  if  any,  strictly  secular  education  was 
at  first  connected  with  it.  The  bishops  regarded  it  as  incumbent 
upon  them  to  care  for  the  training  of  their  flocks  in  the  principles  of 
their  religion ;  yet,  from  some  of  the  works  which  have  been  preserved, 
it  is  evident  that  the  discussions  sometimes  involved  the  highest 
problems  which  can  engage  human  attention, — the  doctrines  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  Incarnation,  Divine  Providence,  the  last  Things, 
etc.  From  this  it  may  be  safely  inferred  that  the  hearers  must  have 
passed  far  beyond  the  stage  of  elementary  training,  and  were  able 
to  discuss  and  master  these  high  themes.  The  acceptance  of  Chris- 
tianity by  some  men  well  versed  in  the  pagan  philoso-  . 
phy  led  the  earliest  apologists  to  employ  Greek  learning  Greek  leam- 
in  the  defence  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  Christian  sys-  '°^" 
tem.  Such  was  Justin  Martyr,  who,  after  conversion,  devoted  his 
powers  to  the  pi-eparation  of  Apologies  for  Christianity,  addressing 
both,  as  now  appears,  to  Antoninus  Pius,  one  of  the  most  cultivated 
emperors  of  the  century.  His  thought  and  method  are  distinctively 
Greek.  Christianity  is  the  highest  reason,  and  he  who  lives  in  con- 
formity to  reason  is  a  Chi'istian,  Whatever,  therefore,  is  rational 
is  Christian,  and  whatever  is  Christian  is  in  accordance  with  the 
best  reason.  He  even  goes  so  far  as  to  declare  that  all,  in  every  dis- 
pensation, who  have  thus  lived  in  conformity  to  the  deepest  reason, 
are  Christians  in  every  thing  but  name.  Justin  thus  endeavours  to 
reconcile  the  Christian  system  with  the  best  teaching  of  the  Platonic 
philosophy,  and  is  the  first  one  of  the  fathers  to  suggest  the  method 
for  the  harmony  of  reason  and  revelation,  and  for  the  use  of  Greek 
learning  in  the  Christian  schools. 

The  most  famous  catechetical  school  was  that  of  Alexandria, 
which  had  a  succession  of  noted  teachers  who  deeply  in-  The  school  ot 
fluenced  the  theology  of  the  Church.  While  tradition  Alexandria, 
ascribes  its  founding  to  St.  Mark,  its  first  authentic  teacher  was 
Pantsenus,  who  flourished  about  A.  D.  180.  He  was  succeeded  by 
a  long  line  of  instructors,  of  whom  Clement  and  Origen  were  the 
most  conspicuous.  This  school  was  not  for  children;  rather  it  was 
after  the  type  of  the  schools  of  the  Jewish  rabbis  and  of  the  Greek 
philosophers.  It  was  a  place  of  inquiry  and  discussion.  The  room 
or  hall  stood  open  from  morning  to  night,  and  probably  all  who 
wished  had  free  access  to  the  master.     In  addition  to  conversations. 


552  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

and  free  question  and  answer  to  any  who  niiffht  come. 
Its  method.         ^,  .it.  •  n        ■, 

there  appears  to  have  been  a  progressive  course  for  those 

who  desired  more  systematic  training  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Christ- 
ian religion.  This  is  suggested  by  the  treatises  of  Clement  and  Ori- 
gen.  They  seem  to  have  been  arranged  on  the  plan  of  a  progressive 
unfolding  of  the  truth,  and  a  growing  experience  of  its  saving 
power.'  Since  this  school  was  free  of  charge  for  tuition,  it  was  vis- 
ited by  multitudes  of  both  men  and  women,  and  became  the  means 
of  instructing  many  thoughtful  pagans  in  the  fundamental  doctrines 
of  Christianity.  Especially  under  the  direction  of  Origen,  who  at  a 
later  period  devoted  his  entire  attention  to  advanced  instruction, 
were  eminent  heathen  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  who 
also  made  valuable  gifts  to  the  school.  Prominent  among  these  was 
Ambrosius,  a  Gnostic,  who  contributed  a  valuable  library,  and  pro- 
moted the  exegetical  studies  of  Origen  by  the  aid  of  copyists,  read- 
ei-s,  and  secretaries.  In  connection  with  theology  and  philosophy, 
rhetoric  and  mathematics,  physics  and  astronomy,  and  even  gram- 
mar and  music,  were  taught. 

But  the  attempt  of  the  Alexandrian  theologians  to  reconcile 
This  fraught  the  supernaturalism  of  the  Gospel  with  the  pagan  phi- 
with  dangers,  losopliy  was  attended  with  peculiar  dangers.  Not  only 
did  the  Christian  teachers  encounter  the  purer  and  nobler  principles 
of  Platonism,  but  the  eclecticism  of  the  Neo-Platonic  school,  and 
the  bewildering  syncretism  of  the  Jewish  and  Christian  Gnosticism, 
The  earnest  desire  of  Origen  to  reconcile  these  conflicting  elements, 
within  and  without  the  Church,  led  him  to  embrace  some  extrava- 
gant doctrines  which  had  but  slender  scriptural  authority,  and  to 
originate  an  allegorical  method  of  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures 
whose  threefold  sense,  literal,  moral,  and  spiritual,  might  lead  to 
conclusions  as  untenable  as  the  wildest  vagaries  of  Gnosticism, 

At  a  very  early  date  an  important  institution  was  established  at 
The  school  of  Antioch,  This  differed  somewhat  from  the  catechetical 
Antioch.  school  of  Alexandria,  inasmuch  as  it  was  not  under  the 

direction  and  ofiicial  oversight  of  the  bishop,  but  was  rather  a  col- 
lection of  cloister  schools,  inside  and  outside  the  city,  for  the  special 
training  of  the  monks  and  clergy.  Their  curriculum  of  studies  was 
much  narrower.  Instead  of  philosophy  and  nearly  the  whole  round 
of  human  knowledge,  as  taught  at  Alexandria,  the  schools  of  Anti- 
och were  almost  exclusively  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  Scriptures, 
The  eminent  teachers,  Dorotheus  and  Lucian  of  Samosata,  intro- 

'  Notice  especially  the  difiference  of  teaching  in  Clement's  Cohortatio  ad  Grcecos, 
Pcedagogus^  and  Stromaia.  These  progress  from  the  elements  of  a  Christian  life  to 
the  more  advanced  stages  of  thought  and  experience. 


RELATIONS  TO  EDUCATION  AND  GENERAL  CULTURE.  553 

duced  a  more  just  and  rational  interpretation,  and  became  the 
instructors  of  some  of  the  ablest  bishops  of  the  Church.  Also 
at  Edessa,  Caesarea,  Nisibis,  etc.,  were  flourishing  schools,  whose 
influence  upon  the  thought  and  doctrines  of  the  Church  was  most 
important. 

The  recognition  of  the  Church  by  Constantine  brought  no  immedi- 
ate change  m  the  feeling  of  the  leading  fathers  respecting 
heathen  philosophy,  or  in  relation  to  the  propriety  of  pa-  able  opinion  of 
tronizing  heathen  schools.  There  is  abundant  evidence  ^^^^^  *^"  ^'''^' 
that  some  of  the  most  distinguished  Christian  theologians  of  the  fourth 
and  fifth  centuries  received  much  of  their  training  under  pagan  mas- 
ters. The  education  of  Jerome,  Augustine,  and  Chrysostom,  as  well  as 
that  of  Gregory  Nazianzen  and  Basil  with  Julian  in  the  schools  of 
Athens,  is  illustrative  of  the  opinion  of  the  best  Christian  families 
respecting  the  excellent  discipline  of  the  heathen  teachers.  Never- 
theless, there  is  noticed  a  feeling  of  the  importance  of  a  distinctively 
Christian  education  under  the  direction  of  the  Church.  By  the  mid- 
dle of  the  fourth  century  this  conviction  had  greatly  strengthened, 
and  the  Christian  teachers  had  become  so  numerous  and  influential 
as  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  Emperor  Julian  to  these  schools, 
which  were  regarded  by  him  as  most  serious  hinderances  to  his 
efforts  to  restore  the  pagan  religion.  The  attempt  to  remove  these 
teachers  from  the  public  schools,  and  its  influence  on  the  develop- 
ment of  a  distinctive  Christian  poetry,  have  been  elsewhere  traced.' 

The  further  effect  was  to  develop  a  theory  of  education  which 
may  be  properly  denominated  Christian.  Its  chief  ele- 
ments  are  found  in  the  writings  of  Chrysostom,  but  it  is  ory  of  educa- 
more  completely  systematized  by  Basil.  Both  these  ^°^' 
fathers  placed  a  very  high  value  upon  education.  "  Do  not  attempt 
to  make  your  son  a  mere  orator,  but  train  him  in  Christian  wisdom. 
Every  thing  depends  upon  character,  not  upon  words;  this  alone 
will  make  him  strong  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  secure  for  him 
the  true  riches.  Do  not  be  over  careful  respecting  his  language,  but 
purify  his  heart.  I  do  not  say  this  to  hinder  you  from  giving  your 
son  a  literary  training,  but  to  guard  against  expending  all  energy 
and  thought  on  this  alone."  Such  is  the  wise  advice  of  Chrysostom 
to  Christian  parents.  Placing  a  high  estimate  upon  the  power  of  ex- 
influence  of  example,  he  exhorts  parents  and  guardians  ^.mpie. 
to  see  to  it  that  their  children  and  wards  are  placed  under  teachers 
whose  pure  lives  will  in  themselves  be  the  best  educating  power. 
*'  Much  of  the  evil  in  children  comes  from  our  neglect,  from  the  fact 
that  we  have  not  from  the  first  inculcated  the  fear  and  love  of  God. 
*  V.  Book  I,  chap.  viii. 


55-1  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

We  interpose  no  objection  to  the  son's  attending  the  theatre,  and 
make  no  effort  that  he  visit  the  church;  if  one  now  and  then  is 
found  at  the  public  services  it  is  more  as  an  amusement  than  for 
purposes  of  worship."  By  Chrysostom  the  mother  is  regarded  as 
the  best  teacher,  and,  next  to  her,  the  cloister  schools  are  the  most 
important  means  of  Christian  education. 

Basil  shows  about  an  equal  enthusiasm  for  Greek  culture  and  for 
Basil's  teach-  ^^®  monastic  life.  "  The  Christian  must  seek  the  treas- 
iag-  ures  of  the  life  to  come.     To  this  life  the  Scriptures  are 

designed  to  lead  by  instructing  us  in  the  deep  mysteries  of  the  faith. 
But  in  order  to  understand  these  our  powers  must  be  cultivated  by 
every  possible  means — by  intercourse  with  the  poets,  the  orators, 
the  grammarians,  and  with  every  one  who  may  give  us  insight  into 
the  deeper  truths  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God."  The  princi- 
ples which  Basil  formulated  for  the  government  of  the  monks  in 
their  schools  contain  much  of  permanent  value. 

The  teachings  of  Jerome  respecting  the  value  of  pagan  writings 

were  still  more  influential.     Notwithstanding   his   ex- 
Jerome"s   par-  .   .  ,       .    „  -.   ,  •  ,  .    . 

tiaiity  for  cias-  treme  asceticism,  the  influence  or  his  early  training  is 

SIC  wntings.  manifest  in  his  own  studies,  and  in  the  high  value  which 
he  places  upon  the  literature  of  pagan  antiquity.  His  severe  strict- 
ures on  the  ecclesiastics  of  his  day  for  neglecting  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  for  passing  their  time  in  reading  low  comedies  and 
love-songs,  cannot  be  construed  as  condemning  the  study  of  the 
best  heathen  classics,  since  even  after  his  retirement  to  Bethlehem 
he  established  a  school  in  connection  with  the  monastery,  and  gave 
instruction  in  grammar  and  in  the  Roman  poets.'  The  later  views 
of  Jerome  were  influenced  by  his  ardent  devotion  to  the  monastic 
life,  and  probably  by  his  alarm  at  the  fearful  decadence  of  faith 
and  morals  throughout  the  empire.  His  views  respecting  the  edu- 
His  later  se-  cation  of  daughters  are  characterized  by  excessive  se- 
verity, verity,''  and  his  condemnation  of  high  Church  officials, 
who  instruct  their  sons  in  the  heathen  authors  and  in  low  comedy 
at  the  neglect  of  the  teachings  of  the  Church,  is  most  unsparing.' 

The  contributions  of  Augustine  to  the  work  of  education  were 
Auffustine's  many  and  valuable.  His  own  training  had  been  most 
views.  thorough;  and  while  in  some  of  his  writings  he  regrets 

the  time  wasted  in  reading  the  trivial  and  debauching  works  of  pa- 
gan authors,  he  elsewhere  recommends  the  classics  for  the  valuable 

'  V.  Ebert:   Geschichte  der  ChristUch-lateinischen  Literatur,  s.  182. 
^  V.  Schmidt:  Die  Geschichte  der  Erziehung  und  des  Uhterrichts,  Cothen,  1863.  ss. 
136,  ISY. 

'  V.  Com.  in  Ephes.  vi,  4. 


RELATIONS  TO  EDUCATION  AND  GENERAL  CULTURE.     555 

truths  therein  found,  which  are  in  accord  with  the  Christian  system, 
and  the  study  of  the  rhetoricians  for  the  benefits  experienced  in  fit- 
ting the  preacher  for  his  work. 

In  the  West  the  destructive  barbarian  invasions  had  almost  com- 
pletely annihilated  the  public  institutions  which  had  ggg^^g  ^j  jj^g 
been  maintained  by  the   a-overnment;  hence  the  stand-   barbarian    in- 

vOrSioiis 

ard  of  education  became  low  in  the  extreme.  Instead 
of  the  imperial  schools,  the  cathedral  schools,  under  the  direction  of 
the  bishops,  then  undertook  the  training  of  the  youth.  The  general 
result  was  a  further  inattention  to  the  works  of  pagan  authors,  a 
growing  distrust  of  secular  learning,  and  a  narrow  and  inadequate 
training  in  most  of  the  monastic  institutions  of  the  West.  "  Sci- 
ence became  the  servant  of  theology,  and  thereby  lost  its  freedom 
and  independent  activity."  '  The  inscriptions  of  the  fifth  and  sixth 
centuries  reveal  the  growing  illiteracy.  Their  wide  departure  from 
classic  forms,  the  many  gross  errors  in  orthography,  the  interchange 
of  labials,  etc.,  the  inattention  to  grammatical  laws,  the  barbarous 
commingling  of  Greek  and  Latin  characters  and  words,  furnish 
painful  evidence  of  educational  and  literary  decadence.^ 

In  the  Byzantine  Empire  and  in  the  Oriental  Church  the  culture 
and   training  were    largely    influenced   by   theological     Education  in 
thought,  while   the   education   of   the  masses   was  far     the   Eastern 
below   what    the    liberal    provisions    of    the   emperors 
should  have  realized.     The  doctrinal  controversies  and  the  fierce 
rivalries  of  factions  diverted  attention  from  the  care  of  the  people. 
The  schools  and  libraries  supported  by  the  imperial  government 
had  been  professedly  reared  on  classic  and  Christian  foundations, 
but  the  old  Greek  spirit  had  departed,  and  Christianity  had  degen- 
erated into  a  lifeless  form.      The  grandest  service  done  by  the  later 
Oriental  Church  was  to  preserve  the  pagan  classics  and  the  ancient 
works  of  art,  which  at  a  later  period  were  to  be  most  important 
aids  in  the  revival  of  learning  in  Western  Europe. 

1  Schmidt:    Op.  cit,  s.  145. 

'  See  the  iuscriptious  contained  in  Plates  iii,  iv,  v,  vi,  vii,  viii  and  their  translation 
in  Appendix.     These  will  supply  a  most  valuable  comment  on  the  condition  of  lit- 
erature and  education  for  the  third,  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  centuries. 
36 


556  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 


CPIAPTER  YL 

CARE  FOR  THE  DEAD  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH. 

From  time  immemorial  the  peoples  from  whom  the  converts  of 
the  early  Church  were  drawn  had  shown  careful  thought  for  their 
dead.  They  manifested  deep  interest  in  the  rej^ose  and  destination 
of  the  soul,  and  maintained  a  close  relationship  between  the  living  and 
the  departed.  The  Old  Testament  Scriptures  contain  many  touch- 
ing accounts  of  the  anxiety  of  the  Jews  relative  to  the  places  of 
their  sepulture.  The  embalming  in  the  case  of  Jacob  and  Joseph, 
the  carrying  of  Jacob  to  his  home  to  be  buried  in  the  cave  of  the 
field  of  Machpelah,  the  grievous  mourning  for  seven  days,  are  indi- 
T    ■  V,   u    •  ,   cations  of   burial   customs   which  seem   to   have   been 

Jewish    burial 

customs.  widely  observed.     The  washing  and  embalming  of  the 

body,  the  winding  in  a  cloth,  the  wrapping  about  with  linen  bands, 
the  covering  of  the  face  with  a  napkin,  the  use  of  costly  spices,  etc., 
are  found  in  the  account  of  the  burial  of  Christ.  To  have  this  care 
for  the  dead  was  the  sacred  duty  of  the  living.  To  remain  un- 
buried  was  considered  the  most  dreadful  calamity;  hence  the  most 
fearful  curse  pronounced  upon  the  violators  of  God's  law  is  that 
their  bodies  shall  be  left  a  prey  for  the  fowls  of  heaven,  or  as  filth 
in  the  streets,  or  as  dung  in  the  fields  (Psa.  Ixxix,  2;  Jer.  ix,  22; 
xvi,  4).  Even  enemies  and  executed  criminals  received  burial 
before  sunset.  The  custom  of  burial  feasts  seems  to  have  been 
quite  common  among  the  Jews  (Deut.  xxvi,  14;  Jer.  xvi,  7;  Hos. 
ix,  14;  et  al.).  The  lamentations  for  seven  and  even  thirty  days, 
the  renaing  of  the  garments,  the  scattering  of  dust  and  ashes  upon 
the  head,  were  common;  yet  the  law  interdicted  certain  excessive 
exhibitions  of  grief,  because  of  their  connection  with  the  practices 
of  the  heathen  nations  around  them  (Lev.  xix,  27,  28;  Deut.  xiv,  1). 
Burial  was  the  almost  universal  custom  among  the  Hebrews. 
Burial  and  not  ^'^^y  ^^  exceptional  cases  was  burning  practiced,  and 
burning.  even  then  the  bones  were  to  be  gathered  and  interred. 

That  burning  was  abhorrent  to  the  Hebrew  mind  appears  from  the 
fact  that  it  was  adjudged  a  punishment  to  be  visited  upon  those 
who  had  been  guilty  of  heinous  crimes  (Lev.  xx,  14;  xxi,  9).  Since 
the  law  regarded  the  dead  body  as  a  source  of  ceremonial  defilement, 
the  places  of  burial  were  somewhat  removed  from  the  dwellings  of 


CARE  FOR  THE  DEAD  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.     557 

the  living.  While  there  was  a  cemetery,  or  place  of  public  interment, 
there  was  ever  a  great  desire  among  the  Jews  to  gather  the  deceased 
members  of  the  family  into  close  proximity ;  this  is  seen  from  the 
fact  that  "  to  be  gathered  to  his  fathers "  is  equivalent  to  one's 
death  and  burial.  Hence,  even  after  the  dispersion,  the  Jews  strove 
to  have  separate  cemeteries,  and  this  desire  measurably  continues  to 
the  present  day. 

The  location  and  form  of  the  grave  depended  upon  circum- 
stances. Frequently  in  Palestine  the  numerous  natural  grottos  in 
the  limestone  rock  afforded  a  place  of  sepulture,  either  by  hewing 
out  spaces  in  the  face  of  the  rock,  or  by  making  perpendicular  ex- 
cavations. Three  kinds  of  graves  have  been  distin-  Three  kinds  of 
guished  by  investigators :  the  body  was  either  laid  upon  graves. 
a  bench  or  shelf  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  over  which  an  arch  was  con- 
structed, or  placed  in  a  box-like  cavity  made  in  the  wall,  or  laid 
away  in  an  excavation  in  the  floor  of  the  grotto.'  The  marking  of 
these  places  of  sepulture  by  monuments  of  a  costly  and  artistic  nature 
was  not  common  among  the  early  Hebrews.  A  few  ac-  Jewish  monu- 
counts  of  the  erection  of  a  stone  or  pillar  are  met,  and,  ments. 
in  later  times,  of  monuments  possessing  some  artistic  merit,  also 
some  attempts  at  ornamentation.  This  is  especially  noticeable  in 
the  Jewish  catacombs  upon  the  Appian  Way  in  Rome.  In  these 
are  galleries  and  chambers,  and  some  attempts  at  artistic  adorn- 
ment by  painting,  and  the  incorporation  into  the  monuments  of 
elements  which  are  plainly  heathen,  thus  showing  that  the  Jews 
of  the  dispersion  were  more  ready  to  admit  into  their  art  principles 
which  were  interdicted  during  their  independent  national  life. 

Among  the  Greeks  there  was  an  equal  care  for  the  dead.  In 
Athens,  by  statutory  provision,  one  seeking  to  fill  high  public  office 
must  first  show  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  no  neglect  Q^eek  senti- 
with  respect  to  the  burial  of  his  parents.  The  refusal  ^^^t- 
of  enemies  to  permit  the  burial  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  battle 
was  terribly  avenged.  When  the  body  could  not  be  secured,  it  was 
regarded  as  a  duty  to  erect  some  monument,  and  over  any  corpse 
found  in  the  way  at  least  a  handful  of  earth  must  be  sti'ewn. 
The  preparation  of  the  body  for  burial  was  somewhat  similar  to 
that  practised  by  the  Jews.  To  close  the  eyes,  to  wash  and 
anoint  the  body,  to  array  in  white  garments,  and  to  bedeck  it 
with   flowers    and    wreaths  were    the    usual    practices   „   ^ 

*  Both    burying 

among  the  Greeks.    The  mode  of  sepulture  differed  at  and    burning 
different  periods  of  their  history.    In  the  historic  period  p^^*^*'^*'*^- 
burial  was  most  usual,  although  burning  was  also  practised.      In 
'  V.  Tobler:    Golgotha,  s.  201.  Wilson:  Picturesque  Palestine,  pp.  95.  96. 


558  ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

Sparta  alone  cremation  was  common,  and  this  only  during  jhe 
period  of  Roman  rule.  On  sanitary  grounds  burning  was  instituted 
for  a  season,  but  when  the  extraordinary  circumstances  passed 
away  the  return  to  burying  was  quite  general.  Also  burning 
was  practiced  in  case  of  soldiers  who  had  fallen  in  battle  on  distant 
fields,  in  order  that  their  ashes  might  be  more  easily  transported 
to  their  native  country. 

A  common  burial-plat  was  used  only  by  the  poor;  the  rich  or 
Individual  well-to-do  citizens  had  separate  tombs  either  along  the 
tombs.  most  public   streets,    or   in   grounds  ornamented   with 

trees  and  works  of  art.  The  tomb  was  usually  of  the  nature  of  a 
chamber  of  sufficient  size  to  admit  the  friends,  and  the  body 
was  laid  upon  a  shelf  of  masonry.  The  Greeks  wrought  out  their 
sarcophagi  with  equal  pains  on  every  side,  whereas  the  Romans 
only  cared  for  the  front  and  ends  :  this  shows  that  the  Greek  sar- 
cophagus occupied  a  position  in  the  centre  of  the  burial-chamber, 
while  the  Roman  was  designed  to  be  placed  against  the  wall.  The 
purpose  of  the  Greeks  seemed  to  be  to  disarm  death  of  its  terrors, 
Cheerfulness  ^^  ^^^  ^^  possible,  by  placing  in  the  tomb  objects  which 
attempted.  were  most  familiar  and  dear  to  the  deceased  while 
living,  or  by  decorating  the  burial  chamber  with  various  orna- 
ments, as  vases,  lamps,  weapons,  etc.  The  numerous  elegant  vases 
found  in  Greek  graves  now  constitute  a  special  department  of  art 
history.  The  decorations  of  the  monuments  themselves  were  chiefly 
in  plastic;  sometimes,  especially  in  case  of  cenotaphs,  painting  was 
used.  The  subjects  treated  in  these  works  are  chiefly  taken  from 
the  popular  mythology.  They  sometimes  represent  the  ruthless- 
ness  of  death  in  robbing  us  of  our  treasures,  as  when  the  Harpies 
are  sculptured,  but  generally  they  are  of  a  more  cheerful  charac- 
ter, and  express  the  leading  thought  of  the  Greek  mind  that  the 
design  of  a  monument  is  to  keep  alive  the  memory  of  the  dead, 
rather  than  to  point  to  a  hereafter,  and  to  describe  the  state  of  the 
departed. 

The  Romans  regarded  burial  as  a  thing  rightfully  due  to  all.  Even 
criminals  who  had  been  put  to  death  were  to  be  cared  for  by  the  sur- 
Roman  cus-  viving  members  of  the  family,  and  in  case  of  those  who 
toms.  had  fallen  in  battle  for  their  country  the  state  took  the 

place  of  the  family,  and  provided  for  their  decent  sepulture.  This 
concern  is  also  manifested  in  the  fact  that  the  living  were  careful 
to  purchase  plats  and  erect  appropriate  tombs,  and  to  make  testa- 
mentary provision  for  keeping  alive  their  memories  by  the  yearty 
celebration  of  the  burial  feasts.  Rich  patrons  prepared  places  of 
common  sepulture  for  clients,  freedmen,  and  slaves,  and  it  was  con- 


CARE  FOR  THE  DEAD  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH. 


559 


sidered  a  severe  punishment  to  deprive  these  persons  of  the  privilege. 
The  indigent  classes  and  small  traders  also  organized  themselves  into 
clubs,  collegia,  for  social  or  other  purposes,  but  they  were  chiefly 
concerned  for  the  appropriate  burial  of  the  deceased  members. 
The  legal  provisions  for  the  protection  of  the  graves  Legal  provis- 
only  embodied  the  average  Roman  sentiment.  Every  ^^'^• 
spot  where  a  body  was  buried  was  judged  sacred.  The  boundaries 
of  the  cemeteries  and  of  the  individual  tombs  were  carefully  de- 
fined. The  area  was  regarded  as  inalienable,  passing  to  the  heirs  in 
perpetuity.  The  removal  of  the  dead  was  forbidden,  and  only  by 
express  permission  could  this  be  effected.     The  violation  and  rob- 


Fig.  141.— A  III  Ilium  columbarium. 

bing  of  graves  and  the  mutilation  of  monuments  were  visited  with 
most  severe  penalties,  and  many  inscriptions  indulge  in  fearful  ex- 
ecrations of  those  who  may  profane  the  tombs.' 

The  method  of  disposing  of  the  dead  varied  at  different  periods 
of  Roman  history.     From  numerous  considerations  it  is 

•  1  1         1        •    1  1  1      T-i  T       T        ^°''*^   inhuma- 

evident  that  burial  was  the  early  Roman  custom.  In  the  tioa  and  bum- 
law  of  the  Twelve  Tables  both  inhumation  and  burning  ^"^  Practiced. 
are  recognised.  This  double  practice  continued  into  the  imperial 
period,  but  cremation  had  doubtless  been  promoted  by  the  growing 
desire  for  display  on  the  one  hand,  and  by  the  certainty 
that  thus  a  member  of  a  collegium  would  have  an  urn  in 
the  columbarium.  The  Roman  columbarium  (Fig.  141),  so  named  from 
^  For  examples  on  Christian  tombs,  v.  p.  256,  n.  3. 


CoIumbarium.l 


:)G0  ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

its  resemblance  to  a  dove-cote,  consisted  of  a  building  in  whose  in- 
terior walls  were  parallel  rows  of  semi-circular  niches,  in  which  were 
placed  the  cinerary  urns.  The  arrangement  in  successive  rows  and 
sections  permitted  the  gathering  of  the  ashes  of  the  members  of  a 
family  or  of  a  club  into  close  proximity,  and  the  easy  identification 
of  their  place  of  sepulture.  Over  the  niches  were  the  names  of  the 
deceased,  either  upon  plates  or  sculptured  in  the  wall,  and  words  as 
"  Eutuchii,"  "  Pancratii,"  etc.,  indicated  the  sodality  to  which  they 
belonged.  Cremation  never  became  a  universal  practice  among  the 
Romans.  Under  the  Antonines,  on  the  contrary,  burial  was  very 
frequent,  and  in  the  third  and  fourth  centuries  it  became  quite 
common  among  the  best  families  of  Rome. 

The  provision  of  the  Twelve  Tables,  that  nobody  should  be 
Sepulture  out-  ^^^I'^^ed  or  buried  within  the  city  walls,  was  reenacted 
side  the  city  with  even  greater  stringency  in  tlie  imperial  period. 
This  led  to  the  custom  of  arranging  the  graves  along 
the  most  frequented  streets  outside  the  city  gates,  thus  keeping 
alive  the  thought  of  the  dead  by  placing  their  tombs  where  they 
could  be  viewed  by  the  passing  multitudes.  Thus  opportunity  was 
also  given  to  gratify  the  growing  desire  for  luxury.  Since  the  Ro- 
mans avoided,  so  far  as  possible,  a  common  cemetery,  but  aimed  to 
be  grouped  into  families  or  sodalities,  the  building  of  imposing 
tombs  along  the  highways,  and  the  careful  decoration  of  the  areas, 
were  the  natural  results  of  the  attempt  of  the  great  families  and  col- 
legia to  rival  each  other  in  magnificent  display.  The  tombs  af- 
Monuments  on  forded  the  best  examples  of  Roman  art,  hence  the  Via 
main  streets.  Appia  and  the  Via  Latina  became  the  favorite  drives 
of  the  Roman  nobility.  Nor  was  this  practice  confined  to  the 
capital.  The  excavations  at  Pompeii  reveal  a  like  arrangement  in 
a  comparatively  small  provincial  town.  These  have  brought  to  light 
the  street  leading  from  Pompeii  to  Herculaneum.  It  {v.  Fig.  142) 
proves  to  be  the  Via  Appia  of  Pompeii,  since  it  is  bordered  with 
tombs  in  the  best  art  of  the  period,  not,  indeed,  equalling  in  magnif- 
icence the  gorgeous  mausoleums  of  Rome,  yet  clearly  illustrating 
the  Roman  conception  of  the  use  of  mortuary  monuments.  Such, 
briefly,  were  the  burial  customs  of  the  peoples  from  whom  early 
Christianity  gained  its  converts.  It  is  presumable  that  here,  too, 
as  in  other  questions  which  have  come  under  examination,  the  new 
religion  would  not  so  much  create  absolutely  new  customs  as  adopt 
those  at  hand,  and  give  to  them  a  deeper  significance  in  accordance 
with  the  clearer  revelations  of  truth  which  were  vouchsafed  by 
Christ  to  his  Church. 

The  Christians  shared  the  common  desire  to  care  for  their  dead. 


CARE  FOR  THE  DEAD  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH. 


561 


Christian  care  Wiiil©  the  early  Christian  literature  furnishes  no  formal 
for  the  dead,  treatise  on  the  method  of  burial,  the  scattered  notices 
are  so  numerous  as  to  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  Christian  practice. 
In  common  with  the  non-Christian  peoples,  they  regarded  the  neglect 
of  the  dead  with  special  horror.  This  is  clearly  seen  from  the  fact 
that  the  refusal  of  the  civil  authorities  to  deliver  to  their  friends 
the  bodies  of  those  who  had  suffered  martyrdom  was  felt  to  be  a 
matter  of  peculiar  hardship.' 

There  seems  to  have  been  in  the  minds  of  some  of  the  Church  an 
apprehension  that  the  appropriate  burial  of  the  body  was  neces- 
sary in  order  to  a  share  in  the  resurrection;  this  greatly  added  to 
the  affliction  felt  when  the  ashes  of  friends  were  widely  scat- 
tered.    So  greatly  disturbed  were  many,  that  the  Christian  teachers 


Fig.  143.— A  street  of  tombs  leading  from  Herculaneum  Gate,  Pompeii. 

were  constrained  to  correct  this  false  notion  by  careful  instruction 
respecting  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  Nevertheless,  the 
Church  insisted  upon  decent  burial  whenever  possible,  and  strongly 
condemned  neglect  of  this  sacred  duty."  The  importance  attaching 
to  Christian  burial  is  also  illustrated  by  the  system  of  penitential 
discipline.  Interment  in  Christian  cemeteries  was  absolutely  re- 
fused to  unbelievers,  and  those  under  the  ban  of  the  Church  looked 
with  peculiar  hori-or  upon  their  exclusion  from  the  common  resting- 
place. 

'  V.  Eusebins:  Hist.  Eccl.,  1.  v,  c.  1,  where  the  account  of  the  persecution  in  Lyons 
and  Vienne  is  given,  and  the  casting  of  the  ashes  of  the  mart3TS  into  the  Rhone. 

'  This  is  exemplified  in  the  conduct  of  the  Alexandrian  Christians  during  the  fear- 
ful pestilence  in  that  city,  to  which  reference  has  elsewhere  been  made. 


563  ARCHAEOLOGY  OF  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

The  Christians  buried  their  dead,  never  burned  them.     It  is  plain 
that  this  practice  was  influenced  by  their  faith  in  tlie 

Inhumation  .^  n         i         i       <•  i 

and  not  bum-  resurrection,  as  well  as  by  the  tact  that  they  shared  the 
^°^"  common  belief  of  antiquity  that  man  could  have  no 

separate  spiritual  existence  independent  of  corporeal  substance.  In 
most  respects  the  Christians  accepted  the  common  methods  of  pre- 
paring the  dead  for  burial,  but  a  notable  difference  is  seen  in  the 
The  family  f^^t  that  while  the  Roman  separated  the  classes,  or  at 
idea  preserved,  niost  allowed  only  members  of  the  same  family  or  so- 
dality to  be  buried  near  each  other,  the  Christian  burial  places 
recognised  no  such  distinctions.  All  classes  of  the  Christian  society 
perpetuated  after  death  that  fellowship  which  they  had  realized 
while  living.  This  is  noticed  more  especially  in  the  West,  while 
in  the  East  and  in  Egypt  single  gi-aves  were  usual. 

The  earlier  view,  that  the  Christians  were  compelled  to  find  secret 
No  secrecy  nee-  places  for  the  interment  of  their  dead,  has  been  shown 
essary.  ^q   j^g    quite    erroneous.       At    first    they    were  looked 

upon  by  the  government  as  only  a  particular  school  of  the  Jews  ; 
hence  they  shared  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  which  had 
from  time  to  time  been  granted  to  the  Jews.  Their  burial  j^laces 
were,  therefore,  adjudged  equally  sacred  with  others.  At  a 
later  period,  when  the  distinction  between  Jews  and  Christians 
was  more  clearly  recognised,  the  latter  were,  at  Rome  especially, 
looked  upon  as  one  of  the  many  collegia,  banded  to- 
gether for  special  objects,  but  most  of  all  to  care  for 
the  decent  burial  of  their  fellow-members.  Such  burial  clubs  were 
specially  encouraged,  and  were  granted  areas  in  which  their  dead 
could  be  interred,  and  where  proper  cellce  could  be  built  for  the 
celebration  of  the  funeral  feasts.^  It  is  only  in  harmony  with  the 
Roman  reverence  for  the  dead  that,  while  many  of  the  collegia  were 
suppressed  from  political  considerations,  the  burial  clubs  were 
never  disturbed. 

The  origin  of  the  catacombs,  at  Rome  and  elsewhere,  was  most 
simple  and  natural.     Like  other  burial  clubs  the  Christ- 

Onsrm  of    the    ,       '■  . 

Roman  cata-  lans  obtained  an  area  which  was  devoted  to  sacred  pur- 
*^°™  ^'  poses,  and  the  excavations  below  that  area  were  begun 

and  increased  as  the  Church  multiplied.  The  entrance  to  the  cata- 
combs was  usually  well  known.  No  concealment  was  necessary, 
since  the  law  judged  all  burial  areas  sacred.  It  has  been  satisfac- 
torily established  that  among  the  Roman  Christians  of  the  first  and 
second  centuries  were  persons  of  social  position  and  wealth,  who 

1  Under  Alexander  Severus,  about  A.D.  230,  the  Christians  of  Rome  were  granted 
the  privileges  of  a  burial  association,  collegium  fiineratici'um. 


CARE  FOR  THE  DEAD  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH. 


563 


gave  laud  for  purposes  of  Christian  burial.  The  cemetery  thus 
founded  would  take  the  name  of  its  chief  patron.  It  is  believed 
that  the  grounds  on  which  most  of  the  Roman  catacombs  were  ex- 
cavated originall}'^  belonged  to  private  persons,  whose  names  would 
in  themselves  afford  partial  protection  against  abuse. 

The  entrance  to  them  was  usually  by  an  excavation  in  the  side  of 
a  hill,  or  by  a  staircase;  in  that  to  Santa  Domitilla  (Fig.  143),  these 
are  combined.  For  burial  purjjoses  narrow  passages  Description  of 
from  two  and  a  half  to  four  feet  wide,  and  from  seven  to  catacombs, 
ten  feet  high,  were  made  in  the  soft  tufa  rock,  in  the  faces  of  which 
rectangular  cavities,  each  large  enough  to  receive  a  body,  were 
hewn.  These  ran  lengthwise  of  the  passages,  and  may  be  likened  to 
so  many  shelves  upon  which  bodies  might  I'est.     Several  rows  or  tiers 


Fig.  143.— The  entrance  to  Santa  Domitilla  at  Rome. 

of  graves,  loculi,  sometimes  as  many  as  seven,  rose  one  above  an- 
other (Fig.  144).  As  the  demands  for  space  increased,  from 
the  main  corridors  side  aisles  were  constructed,  thus  making  a  com- 
plicated net-work  of  passages  which  none  but  the  initiated  were 
able  to  thread.  In  some  of  the  catacombs  these  aggregate  several 
miles  in  length.  The  accompanying  plan  (Fig.  145)  of  a  portion  of 
the  Catacomb  of  St.  Agnes,  at  Rome,  will  enable  the  reader  to  form 
some  conception  of  the  complexity  of  the  system.  Besides  the 
multiplicity  of  aisles,  the  capacity  of  the  catacombs  was  further 
enlarged  by  excavations  at  different  levels,  thus  forming  several 
stories  (piani),  in  some  cases  as  many  as  five,  communicating  with 
each  other  by  staircases  cut  in  the  rock  ;  in  each  story  Extent  of  cata- 
was  a  like  complexity  of  passages.  Thus  the  entire  combs. 
area  was  honeycombed  with  graves  to  the  depth  of  from  twenty 


564 


ARCHEOLOGY    OF   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 


to  forty  feet.  The  number  of  Cliristian  catacombs  already  explored 
at  Rome  is  fifty-foui-.  It  is  impossible  to  state  the  aggregate  length 
of  the  passages,  or  the  number  of  the  dead  therein  interred.'  It 
has,  however,  been  estimated  that  there  are  between  five  and  six 
hundred  miles  of  these  narrow  streets,  which  contained  from  five  to 
six  millions  of  graves. 

The  method  of  Christian  burial  differed  from  that  of  the  heathen. 


Fig.  144.— A  gallery  with  tombs,  inscriptions,  and  symbols. 

in  that  the  latter  allowed  the  body -to  be  in  view,  while  the  former 
The  grave  closed  the  grave,  loculus,  with  a  slab  of  marble  carefully 
closed.  set  in  cement.     This  practice  of  the  Christians  came 

from  the  fact  that  the  catacombs  were  often  visited,  and  the  effluvium 
from  the  dead  bodies  must  be  guarded  against.     At  the  intersec- 

'  Michele  Stefano  de  Rossi  gives  the  following  results  for  the  belt  of  catacombs 
within  three  miles  of  the  gate  of  Servius :  1.  Surface  of  tufa  beds,  capable  of  being 
excavated  into  catacombs,  sixty-seven  million  feet.  2.  Surface  actually  excavated 
into  catacombs  from  one  to  four  stories  deep,  twenty-two  million  five  hundred  feet ; 
more  than  a  square  mile.  3.  Aggregate  length  of  galleries,  calculated  on  the  average 
construction  of  six  different  catacombs,  eight  hundred  and  sixty-six  kilometers,  or 
five  iiundred  and  eighty-seven  geographical  miles.  Lanciani :  Pagan  and  Christian 
Rome,  p.  319. 


CARE  FOR  THE  DEAD  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH. 


565 


\ 


/ 


7^ 


^ 


t: 


^ 


Fig.  145.— Plan  of  a  part  of  the  Catacomb  of  Santa 
Agnese,  Rome. 


tions  of  the  main  passage-ways,  rooms  of  considerable  dimensions 
were  formed,  which  often  became  the  burial  places  of 
noted   families,    or   of   persons    of    peculiar    sanctity. 
These  were  sometimes  enlarged  and  decorated  with  paintings  in 
fresco,    or    adorned    with 
sculptured    sarcophagi. 
Sometimes,  also,  a  doorway 
led    into    an    independent 
chamber   or   succession   of 
chambers,  cubiculum,  cubi- 
cula,  which   seem,  for  the 
most   part,    to    have   been 
family    vaults.      The    size 
and  arrangement  of  these 
rooms     would     suggest    a 
place  for  the  gathering  of 
a  family  to  keejj  the  funeral 
feasts,  rather  than  a  com- 
mon meeting  for  the  cele- 
bration   of   the    eucharist. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  during  times  of  severe  persecution, 
when  Christians  were  forbidden  to  visit  the  cemeteries,  the  entrances 
to  the  catacombs,  which  were  before  well  known,  were  concealed, 
and  the  larger  chambers  were  sometimes  used  for  the  celebration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper.     But  the  limited  space  in  these  rooms  forbids 

the  supposition  that  the 
catacombs  could  have 
been  used  as  places  of 
assembly  for  ordinary 
worship  by  the  large 
numbers  of  Christians  in 
Rome. 

The  tombs  were  of  dif- 
ferent sizes  and  forms, 
according  to  the  ability 
of  the  family  or  the 
prominence  of  the  deceased.  The  ordinary  form  was  the  shelf, 
hewn  into  the  face  of  the  rock.  At  times  tombs  were  built  up  with 
masonry  and  covered  with  slabs  of  marble,  as  may  now  be  seen  in 
some  modern  churches.  Again,  an  arched  recess  was  excavated, 
and  then  a  vault  was  hewn  in  the  rock  below  to  receive  one  or  moi*e 
bodies,  which  were  separated  from  each  other  by  partitions  of  stone. 
This  form  of  tomb  was  called  arcosoUum  {v.  Fig.  146). 


Fig.  146.— An  arcosolium  from  the  catacombs. 


566 


ARCHEOLOGY  OF  CHKISTIAN  LIFE. 


How  lighted. 


To  naturally  light  all  these  intricate  windings  was  evidently  im- 
possible. From  some  frescos  which  have  been  preserved  it  is  seen 
that  the  /ossores,  or  those  who  excavated  the  cata- 
combs, worked  by  the  light  of  torches  or  lamps.  This 
must  have  been  the  usual  method  of  pursuing  their  laborious  task. 
But  for  the  purj)oses  of  ventilation,  as  well  as  of  lighting  the  larger 
rooms  which  were  used  for  special  services,  shafts  were  extended 
through  the  soil  to  the  surface.  These  were  called  luminaria  {v.  Fig. 
147).  When  the  location  of  the  catacombs  must  be  concealed,  these 
were  small,  but  in  times  of  peace  to  the  Church  they  were  much 
enlarged. 

The  many  miles  of  subterranean  passages  hewn  out  of  the  tufa 


s^ 


Fig.  147.— The  section;  of  a  chamber  and  a:  luminarium  In  the  Catacomb  SS.  Marcellino  e 
Pietro,  Rome. 

rock,  the  millions  of  bodies  laid  away  with  tenderest  care  in  these 
natural  sarcophagi,  whose  enclosing  plates  of  marble  were  inscribed 
with  words  and  symbols  indicative  of  the  former  faith  and  present 
happiness  of  disciples  who  wait  the  voice  of  their  Lord  to  awaken 
them  to  eternal  life,  must  continue  to  be  the  never-ceasing  wonder 
of  the  Christian  scholar,  and  remain  as  the  most  impressive  example 
of  the  religious  care  of  the  early  Christians  for  their  dead.  If  we 
Theology  of  Cannot  speak  of  "  The  Church  of  the  Catacombs,"  we 
the  catacombs,  q^^^  speak  with  entire  truthfulness  of  a  "  Theology  of 
the  Catacombs,"  which  may  be  formulated  from  the  evidences 
herein  contained. 

While    the    Roman    catacombs    are    more    extensive    than    any 
elsewhere  found,  those   of    Naples,  Milan,  Syracuse,  Alexandria, 


CARE  FOR  THE  DEAD  IN   THE  EARLY  CHURCH. 


507 


etc.,  likewise  contain  many  objects  which  have  proved  of  great 
vahie  in  the  study  of  early  Christian  art,  life,  and  doctrine.  As 
before  said,  it  was  the  most  usual  custom  of  the  Eastern  churches 
to  use  single  and  isolated  tombs.  The  discoveries  of  de  Tombs  of  Cen- 
Vogile  have  demonstrated  a  condition  of  great  prosper-  ^^^^  Syria. 
ity  among  the  churches  of  Central  Syria  during  the  fourth,  fifth, 
and  sixth  centuries.  Many  of  the  single  monuments  are  elegant 
and  imposing,  while  the  entrances  to  some  of  the  cemeteries  have 
features  reminding  us  of  the  Roman  catacombs.  Fig.  148  is  a 
view  of  the  extei'ior  of  a  tomb  at  El-Barah,  Central  Syria.'  The 
exterior  somewhat  closely  resembles  that  of  the  Catacomb  of  Santa 
Domitilla  (Fig  143)  ;  but  the  interior  consists  of  a  single  chamber, 
in  which  separate  sarcophagi  are  placed  in  arcosoUa  hewn  in  the 


Fig.  14S.— Exterior  view  of  rock-hewn  tombs  at  EI-Barah,  Central  Syria. 


Conclusions. 


face  of  the  rock.  They  generally  lack  the  passages  so  usual  in  the 
Roman  catacombs,  and  more  resemble  the  cubicula.  The  number 
of  these  subterranean  tombs  in  Syria  is  very  great,  and  they  further 
confirm  our  impression  of  the  scrupulous  care  of  the  Christians  for 
their  dead. 

The  teachings  of  the  symbols  and  inscriptions  has  elsewhere 
been  treated;^  also  the  marked  resemblance  of  many  of 
the  heathen  and  Christian  burial  customs  has  been 
noted.  But  as  in  the  case  of  symbolism,  sculpture,  painting,  and 
architecture,  so  here,  where  the  Church  used  such  elements  as  were 
not  contaminated  with  idolatry,  she  gave  to  them  a  deeper  sig- 
nificance through   the   revelation  of   life   and   immortality   in  the 

Gospel. 

'  V.  de  Yoglie:   Syrie  Centrale,  plate  79,  no.  2,  and  vol.  i,  p.  107. 
^  V.  Book  I,  chaps,  ii,  iii,  vi,  and  vii. 


ADDENDA 


GLOSSARY. 


Abacus:  The  crowning  plate  of  the  cap- 
ital of  a  column. 

Abraxas  Gems  :  Applied  to  a  class  of 
objects,  bearing  talismanic  symbols, 
supposed  to  have  been  prepared  by 
the  Gnostics. 

Agape:  The  love-feast  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians. 

Al^:  Small  rooms  adjoining  the  atrium 
in  a  Roman  house. 

Alto-relievo  :  Applied  to  sculptured 
figures  which  stand  out  prominently 
above  the  general  plane  of  the  block 
in  which  they  are  cut,  and  to  which 
they  are  attached.  Opposed  to  bass- 
reliefs,  or  basso-relievo. 

Ambo:  a  desk  from  which  the  readers 
(lectores)  read  the  gospels  and  epis- 
tles. The  gospel  ambo  stood  on  the 
south  side,  and  the  epistle  ambo  on 
the  north  side. 

Ampull,e:  Blood-phials  found  in  the 
catacombs. 

Anaphora  :  The  second  or  main  part  of 
a  liturgical  service. 

Antiphonarium:  A  service  book  contain- 
ing the  music,  chants,  sentences,  etc. 

Antiphony  :  A  responsive  hymn  or 
chant. 

Apse:  The  semi-circular  recess  in  which 
a  building  terminates,  usually  cov- 
ered by  a  half  dome. 

Architrave:  The  first  member  of  an 
entablature,  which  rests  immediately 
upon  the  supporting  columns  (v.  En- 
tablature). 

Arcosolium  :  Applied  to  a  grave  in  the 
face  of  the  rock  over  which  an  arched 
recess  is  hewn. 

Area  :  The  groundplat  allowed  by  the 
Roman  government  to  the  collegia 
for  the  burial  of  their  dead,  and  for 
the  erection  of  suitable  buildings  for 
the  celebration  of  the  memorial 
feasts. 


Atrium  :  The  chief  room  in  the  Roman 
house. 

Baptistery:  A  room  or  building  where 
the  rite  of  baptism  is  administered. 
Sometimes  it  was  a  room  in  a  church, 
sometimes  a  detached  building. 

Basilica:  A  spacious  hall  for  public 
business.  Afterward  applied  to  a 
Christian  church  of  a  certain  type, 
of  one,  three,  or  five  naves. 

Bema  :  In  Byzantine  architecture  the 
name  of  the  chancel. 

BiBLiA  Pauperum:  "  Books  for  the  Poor," 
generally  applied  to  illustrated  leaves 
of  the  Bible,  or  to  Bible  scenes,  by 
which  religious  instruction  might  be 
given  to  the  illiterate. 

Bulla:  A  small  tablet  of  metal  or  ivory 
attached  to  a  chain  and  worn  around 
the  neck.  Slaves  wore  leather 
bullae. 

Byzantine  Architecture:  The  style 
of  architecture  developed  in  the 
Byzantine  Empire  from  about  A.  D. 
328  to  A.  D.  1453.  First  period 
prior  to  A.  D.  562 ;  second  period 
from  A.  D.  562  to  tlie  eleventh  cen- 
tury; third  period  from  the  eleventh 
century  to  the  conquest  of  Greece 
by  the  Turks. 

Cadence:  The  fall  of  the  voice  in  read- 
ing, especially  in  reading  poetry. 

Calippic  Cycle  :  one  of  seventy-six 
years. 

Cantharus  :  A  fountain  in  the  vestibule 
of  a  Christian  church. 

Cantillation  :  Singing  as  a  recitation  or 
chant. 

Capital  :  The  head  or  crown  of  a  column 
or  pilaster.  Each  style  of  archi- 
tecture had  its  distinctive  capital. 

Catacombs:  Subterranean  vaults  or  ex- 
cavations used  for  burial  purposes. 


570 


GLOSSARY. 


Cathedra:  The  chair  of  a  high  official, 
as  bishop  or  teacher. 

Cella  :  An  enclosed  space  in  a  hyptethral 
temple,  where  stood  the  altar.  Also 
applied  to  a  recess  in  a  church,  and 
to  a  building  in  which  burial  leasts 
were  held. 

Cknseh:  a  vessel,  to  which  chains  are 
usually  attached,  in  which  incense  is 
burued  in  public  service. 

Ceramics  :  The  science  of  pottery. 

Chalice:  Tiie  eucharistic  cup. 

Charisii  :  An  extraordinary  gift  con- 
ferred on  the  primitive  Christians,  as 
the  gift  of  miracles,  of  tongues,  etc. 

Chromatic:  In  music  a  scale  consisting 
of  thirteen  intervals,  eight  scale 
tones  and  five  intermediate  tones. 

ClBORiUM:  A  domed  covering,  supported 
b}'  pillars,  rising  above  the  high  altar. 

COLLKGIUM:  An  association,  a  guild,  a 
club,  a  fraternity. 

Colonnade:  A  series  of  columns  at  regu- 
lar intervals. 

Columbarium  :  A  place  of  sepulture 
where  the  urns  containing  the  ashes 
of  the  dead  were  placed  in  niches, 
resembling  a  dove-cote 

COMPLUviuM:  The  opening  in  the  roof  of 
a  Roman  house. 

CONFESSio:  A  space  beneath  the  high 
altar,  where  relics  or  a  sarcophagus 
might  be  placed. 

Corona  :  Applied  to  the  jeweled  halo  en- 
circling the  head  of  a  saint  or  of 
Christ. 

Crypt  :  A  vault  beneath  a  building,  or  a 
portion  of  a  catacomb. 

CuBicULUM:  A  sleeping  or  lodging-room 
hi  a  Roman  house ;  also  a  burial 
chamber  in  the  catacombs. 

Cupola  :  The  conve.x  roof  of  a  building, 
either  circular  or  polygonal. 

Cursive:  When  applied  to  inscriptions 
it  means  running  writing,  or  where 
the  letters  are  joined  together. 

Diatonic:  In  music,  a  scale  consisting  of 
eight  sounds  with  seven  intervals,  of 
which  five  are  whole  tones  and  two 
are  semitones. 

DtPiNTi:  Inscriptions  painted  in  colours, 
as  red,  or  with  coal,  etc. 

Diptych:  Any  thing  folded  together 
twice.  Applied  to  tablets  of  metal 
or  ivory  covered  with  wax,  used  by 
the  ancients  for  writing  with  a 
stylus. 

Disciplina  Arcani:  Privileges  enjoyed 
only  by  those  who  had  been  initiated 
into  the  inner  mysteries  of  a  school 
or  society. 


Dome  :  Literally,  a  cathedral ;  more  prop- 
erly a  cupola,  specially  used  in  Byz- 
antine architecture. 

Dominant:  In  music,  the  note  on  which 
the  recitation  was  made  in  each  psalm 
or  canticle  tune. 

Enharmonic:  The  musical  scale  which 
was  used  by  the  ancient  Greeks. 

Entablature  :  The  portion  of  a  building 
which  is  immediately  supported  by 
columns;  it  consists  of  architrave, 
frieze,  and  cornice. 

Epigraphy:  The  science  of  inscriptions. 

Epithalamium  :  A  wedding  song  or  hymn. 

ExEDR^:  «.  Cella.  Also  applied  in  Byzan- 
tine architecture  to  the  recesses  on 
either  side  the  high  altar  which  were 
occupied  by  the  deacons. 

E.X'tra-mural  :  Situated  outside  the  walls 
of  a  town. 

Facade  :  The  front  view  or  elevation  of 
a  building. 

Font:  The  vessel  containing  the  conse- 
crated water  to  be  used  in  baptism. 

Formative  Arts  :  Those  fine  arts  which 
appeal  to  the  eye,  as  sculpture,  paint- 
ing, and  architecture,  in  distinction 
from  those  arts  which  appeal  to  the 
ear. 

FossORES :  Literally,  diggers.  Applied  to 
a  class  of  men  who  prepared  the 
graves  for  the  burial  of  Christians. 

Fresco:  A  painting  executed  in  mineral 
or  earthy  pigments  upon  fresh  or 
wet  plaster  walls. 

Frieze  :  The  middle  member  of  the  En- 
tablature: it  lies  between  the  archi- 
trave and  the  cornice.  Its  character 
depended  upon  the  style  of  architec- 
ture. 

Glyptics:  The  science  of  engraving  ou 
precious  stones. 

Graffito  :  A  rude  inscription  or  figure 
scratched  upon  a  soft  rock  or  stuc- 
coed surface. 

Gynec^um  :  The  portion  of  a  church  edi- 
fice for  the  exclusive  use  of  women. 

Hexameter:  In  poetry,  having  six  feet 
to  the  line  or  verse. 

Hieroglyphics:  The  sacred  writings  of 
the  Egyptians.  Now  apphed  to  any 
writing  whose  key  is  obscure  or  un- 
known. 

Harmonics:  The  science  of  musical 
sounds. 

Ichthus  Monuments  :  Those  which  bear 
the  name  or  figure  of  the  fish. 


GLOSSARY. 


571 


Impluvium:  a  depression  or  cistern  in 
the  floor  of  a  Roman  house  to  re- 
ceive the  rain  falling  through  the 
compluuium. 

In  Situ:  Monuments  are  said  to  be  in 
vitu  when  they  occupy  their  original 
position,  or  have  not  been  disturbed. 

Labardm  :  The  standard  of  Constiiniine 
the  Great  in  which  the  ^  supplanted 
the  Roman  eagle. 

Lectorium:  v.  Ambo. 

LocuLUS:  A  j^rave  hewn  in  the  face  of 
the  rock  in  the  catacombs. 

Lunette:  A  semicircular  space  above  a 
square  window,  or  an  orifice  for  ad- 
mission of  light. 

Lyric:  Applied  to  poetry  which  is  ap- 
propriate for  singing. 

Mariolatry:  The  cultus  or  worship  of 
the  Virgin  Mary. 

Marmorarii:  The  Roman  workers  in 
marble. 

Mausoleum:  An  imposing  tomb. 

Medallion  :  A  circular  tablet  on  which 
figures  are  sculptured,  painted,  or 
wrought  in  mosaic. 

Metonic  Cycle  :  A  cycle  of  nineteen 
years. 

Mime:  A  play  in  which  mimicry  is  the 
main  action. 

Miniature:  An  illustrated  or  illumi- 
nated manuscript ;  probably  so  called 
from  painting  the  rubrics  and  initial 
letters  with  red  lead  {minium). 

MissA  Catechumenorum  :  The  services 
at  which  the  catechumens  were  al- 
lowed to  be  present  in  company  with 
the  fully  initiated  members. 

MissA  Fidelium:  The  service  which 
only  the  fully  initiated  could  attend, 
especially  the  Eucharist. 

Monolith  :  A  column  consisting  of  a  sin- 
gle stone. 

Monogram  :  A  combination  of  letters  or 
forms  symbolizing  some  name  or  fact. 

Monument:  Any  sensuous  object  de- 
signed to  perpetuate  the  memory  of 
a  person  or  event. 

Mosaics:  Ornamental  work  resulting 
from  inlaying  small  pieces  {tesserce), 
usually  cubes,  of  glass,  stone,  etc., 
much  used  by  the  ancients  in  pave- 
ments, and  by  the  Christians  in  the 
apses  and  triumphal  arches  of 
churches. 

Mosque  :  The  sacred  building  of  the  Mo- 
hammedans. 

Mural  :  Pertaining  to  a  wall ;  as  mural 
painting,  that   upon    the   wall   of  a 
church,  catacomb,  etc. 
37 


Naos  :  Properly  a  temple.  Applied  to 
the  sacred  interior  of  a  church. 

Narthex  :  The  portico  of  the  Byzantine 
cluirch. 

Nave  :  The  part  of  a  church  building  in 
which  the  general  congregation  as- 
sembled, usually  lying  west  of  the 
choir.  The  interior  area  of  a  church 
may  be  divided  into  three  or  five 
naves  by  longitudinal  rows  of  col- 
umns. 

Niche:  A  recess  in  a  wall  to  receive  a 
statue,  bust,  or  other  ornamental 
object. 

Nimbus  :  The  circle  encircling  the 
head  of  saints ;  called  also  a  corona, 
when  jeweled. 

Nisan  :  The  first  month  of  the  Jewish 
year,  Ijeginning  in  March. 

NuM^  :  Marks  accompanying  the  ancient 
musical  notation,  whose  meaning  has 
not  been  satifactorily  determined. 

Numismatics:  The  science  of  coins  and 
medals. 

Octave:  In  music,  the  interval. 

Oecus  :  A  recess  in  the  rear  part  of  the 
peristyle  of  a  Roman  house. 

Grants  :  The  technical  term  used  for  fig- 
ures found  on  burial  monuments, 
standing  with  extended  arms  in  the 
attitude  of  prayer. 

Oratory  :  A  building  for  prayer. 

Palaeography  :  The  science  of  decipher- 
ing ancient  inscriptions  and  writings. 
Paleontology:  The  science  of  organic 

remains. 
Pallium:    The    outside    loose    garment 

worn  by  the  Romans. 
Pantomime  :  A  play  in  which  the  plot  is 

revealed  by  action,  and  not  b}'  words. 
Peristyle  :  A  court   or  square  enclosed 

by  a  colonnade ;  sometimes  it  applies 

to  the  colonnade  itself. 
Pilaster  :  A  square  half  column,  usually 

projecting  from  the  face  of  the  wall, 

for  purposes  of  strength  or  ornament. 
Pix,  Pixis:    An    ivory     box,     generally 

placed  upon  the  altar  to  contain  the 

consecrated  elements  in  the  eucha- 

rist. 
Plagal  :  In  ancient  music,  applied  to  the 

four  modes   added   by  Gregory  the 

Great. 
Presbyterium  :    The      portion     of     the 

church   reserved   for   the  officiating 

clergy. 
Proanaphora:    The    first   portion   of  a 

liturgical  service. 
Psalter  :  As  used  in  the  early  Church, 

the  Book  of  Psalms. 


573 


GLOSSARY. 


QuARTO-DECiMANlANS:  Those  ill  the  early 
Church  who  celebrated  the  Christian 
passover  uuiformly  on  the  1-ith 
Nisan. 

Regula  Fidei  :  A  rule  of  faith. 

Rhythm  :  In  poetry  is  the  division  of  the 
lines  or  verses  into  parts  by  im- 
pulses and  remissions  of  the  voice. 
In  music,  a  periodic  recurrence  of 
the  accent. 

Rotunda  :  A  round  building  usually  cov- 
ered by  a  dome. 

Sanctuarium-  The  space  within  the  apse 
where  stood  the  altar  and  the  sacred 
furniture  was  kept.  The  space  set 
apart  for  the  officiating  clergy. 

Sarcophagus:  A  stone  coffin,  usually 
covered  by  a  stone  slab  or  lid,  which 
was  carefully  cemented  to  it. 

Schola  :  A  building  in  which  the  ancient 
clubs  or  guilds  were  accustomed  to 
meet. 

Spandrel:  The  space  between  the  arches 
and  entablature  in  a  basilica;  or 
"  the  space  included  between  the 
upper  arch  of  a  window  or  door  and 
the  square  outer  molding  which 
form  a  frame  thereto." 

Sphragistics:  The  science  of  seals. 

Swastika  :  A  form  of  the  cross  often  found 
in  India  {v.  Fig.  15,  lower  form). 

Tablinum:    a   recess   in    the  atrium  of 

a  Roman  house. 
Tessera  :  Small  cubes  of  glass  or  marble 

used  in  mosaic  work. 
Tetrachord:  In  ancient  music  a  series 

of  four  sounds,  the  first  and  last  of 

which  constituted  a  fourth.     The  ex- 


tremes were  fixed ;  the  others  might 

vary. 
Thrust:    In    architecture,   the    outward 

pressure  exerted  upon  walls,  etc.,  by 

a  superincumbent  mass. 
TiTULi:  Inscrij)tions.  properly  so  called. 
Transept  :  The  portiou  of  a  church  which 

intercepts   the   main   nave    at  right 

angles,  forming  a  cruciform  structure. 

It   was  usually  of  nearly  the  same 

height  as  the  main  nave. 
Tribune:  v.  Apse. 
Triclinium  :   The   dining  or   banqueting 

room  in  the  ancient  Roman  house. 
Triumphal  Arch:  In  a  basilica,  the  arch 

spanning   the   opening  leading  from 

the  main   nave  to  the  apse.     When 

a     transept    was    introduced    there 

might  be  more   than  one  triumphal 

arch. 
Tunic:  The  undergarment,  reaching    to 

the  knees,  worn  by  both  sexes  of  the 

Romans. 

Uncial  :  A  term  descriptive  of  a  kind  of 
writing  sharing  the  qualities  of  cap- 
itals and  cursive  writing.  It  in- 
clines to  change  the  angular  outline 
of  the  capital  to  the  rounded  outline 
of  the  cursive. 

Vaulting  :  The  arched  surface  of  a  ceil- 
ing, receiving  different  names  from 
the  character  of  the  curve. 

Verd-antique  :  A  kind  of  green  por- 
phyry ;  sometimes  applied  to  a  mot- 
tled green  marble. 

Vestibule:  A  hall  or  ante-room  from 
which  the  main  room  of  a  building  is 
entered. 

Vestibulum:  v.  Vestibule. 


NAMES  OF  CHURCHES  AND  CATACOMBS.  573 


11. 

ITALIAN  CBCRCHES  AND  CATACOMBS  WITH  EQUIVALENT  ENGLISH 

NAMES.' 


Santa  Agnese,  Catacomb  of. 

Catacomb  of  St.  Agnes. 
Santa  Agne$efuori  le  mura,  Church  of 

Cburch  of  St.  Agnes  outside  the  city  walls. 
San  Alessandrv,  Cemetery  of. 

Cemetery  of  St.  Alexander. 
San  Ambrogio,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Ambrose. 
San  Andrea  in  Barbara,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Andrew    in  Barbara. 
San  Apollinare  in  Classe,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Apollinarius  at  the  port  of  Classe. 
San  Apollinare  Nuovo,  Church  of. 

New  Church  of  St.  Apollinarius. 
San  Bernardo  a  Termini,  Church  of 

Church  of  St.  Bernard  at  the  Limits. 
San  Calisto,  Catacomb  of. 

Catacomb  of  St.  Calixtus. 
San  Ckmente,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Clement. 
Sa7ita  Constanzia,  Church  of 

Church  of  St.  Constantia. 
SS.  Cosmos  e  Damiano,  Cemetery  of. 

Cemetery  of  Sts.  Cosmas  and  Damianus. 
Santa  Croce  in  Gerusalemme,  Church  of. 

Church  of  the  Holy  Cross  in  Jerusalem. 
Santa  Domitilla,  Catacomb  of 

Catacomb  of  St.  Domitilla 
San  Francesco,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Francis. 
San  Gennaro  dei  Poveri,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Januarius  for  the  Poor. 
San  Giovanni  Evangelista,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist. 
San  Giovanni  in  fonte.  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  John  (the  Baptist)  by  the  font. 
San  Giovanni  in  Laterano,  Church  of 

Church  of  St.  John  in  the  Late  ran. 

'  This  list  Is  ^ven  for  the  benefit  of  such  readers  as  may  not  be  familiar  with  Italian,  or 
may  not  have  enjoyed  the  opportunity  of  visiting  these  spots. 


574        NAMES  OF  CHURCHES  AND  CATACOMBS. 

Santa  Lucina,  Catacomb  of. 

Catacomb  of  St.  Lucina. 
San  Lorenzo,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Lawrence. 
Sa7i  Lorenzo  fuori  le  mura,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Lawrence  outside  the  city  walls. 
San  Marco,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Mark. 
Santa  Maria  in  Cosmedin,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Mary  iu  Cosmedin. 
Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  Church  of. 

Churcli  of  St.  Mary  the  Greater. 

Santa  Maria  delta  Rotonda,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Rotunda. 

Santa  Maria  delta  Sanita,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Mary  the  healthgiving. 
Santa  Maria  in  Trastavere,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Mary  in  district  of  Trastavere. 
SS.  Nazario  e  Gelso,  Church  of. 

Church  of  Sts.  Nazarius  and  Celsus. 
San  Nicolo  in  Carcere,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Nicholas  by  the  prison. 
Sa7i  Faolo  fuori  le  mura.  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Paul  outside  the  city  walls. 
SS.  Pietro  e  Marcellino,  Catacomb  of. 

Catacomb  of  Sts.  Peter  and  Marcellinus. 
San  Pietro  in  Vincolo,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Peter  of  the  Fetters. 
San  Pietro  in  Vaticano,  Church  of. 

Church  of  St.  Peter  in  the  Vatican. 
San  Ponziano,  Catacomb  of. 

San  Proetestato,  Cemetery  of. 

Santa  Priscilla,  Catacomb  of. 

Santa  Pudenziana,  Church  of. 

San  Sisto,  Chapel  of. 

San  Ste/ano,  Church  of. 

Colli  di  Sto  Stefano,  BasUica  of. 

San  Vitale,  Church  of. 


Catacomb  of  St.  Poutianus. 

Cemetery  of  Prsetextatus. 

Catacomb  of  St.  Priscilla. 

Church  of  St.  Pudentia, 

Chapel  of  St.  Sixtus. 

Church  of  St.  Steplien. 

Basilica  of  St.  Stephen  on  the  hills  (in  Tivoli). 

Church  of  St.  Vital. 


TRANSLATION   OF   INSCRIPTIONS. 


575 


III. 

TRANSLATION  OF  THE  WSCRIPTIOiNS  FOUND  IN  THE  TEXT  AND  IN 

THE  PLATES.' 


Page 
67. 


67. 
67. 
96. 

14.3. 


253. 


254. 


255. 


256. 


Victoria  Coustantini  Aug. 

Victory  of  (Jonstantine  Augustus 
(or  tlie  Great). 
Hoc  sigiio  victor  eris. 

In  this  sign  thou  shalt  be  conqueror. 
FeU'c/s  Tcmporis  Reparatio 

A  restoration  of  the  happy  age. 
DN  IHY  XPS  DEI  FILIVS-Doim- 
Nms  IHffYf  XP/crof  DEI  FILIVS. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Son  of  God. 
lY'N.iu.s  BASSVS  Vir  Glarissimus 
QVI  VrXIT  AXNIS.  XLII.  MEN.  II 
IN  IPSA  PRAEFECTVRA  VRBI. 
NEOFITVS  IIT  AD  DEVM.  VIII 
KALe?«te  SEPTemfiri  EVSEBIO 
ET  TPATIO  GOnsulibug. 

Junius  Bassus,  of  patrician  rank, 
who  hved  fortj'-lwo  years  and  two 
months.    In  tlie  very  year  in  which 
he  became  prefect  of  the  city,  a  neo- 
phyte, he  went  toGodon  tlie  8th  be- 
fore the  kalends  of  September,  Eu- 
sebius  and  Hypatius  being  consuls. 
'  Hie  jacet.     '^  Hie  requiescit.     ^  Hie 
jacet  in  nomine  Christi.     ''  Hie  requi- 
escit in  pace. 
Here  lies.     Here  reposes  or  rests. 
Here  lies   in  the  name  of  Christ. 
Here  rests  in  peace. 
'  In  pace.     ^  'Er  elpipji).     '  Vivas  in 
Deo.     *  Vivas  in  geteruum. 
In  peace.    In  peace.    Mayest  thou 
live    in    God.      Mayest  thou  live 
forever. 
*  Diis  Manibus.     '  Diis  Manibus  sa- 
crum.     ^  QeoiQ  Kuraxdovinic. 

To  the  gods  of  the  lower  world. 

Sacred  to  the  gods  of  the  lower 

world.     To  the  gods  of  the  lower 

world. 

'  Oapm  rara  jiriTfip  ovSeig  aSdvaro^. 

"^  Domus  asterna.     ^  Perpetua  sedes. 

■*  biKOQ  mdivioq. 

Rejoice,  0  mother  dear,  no  one  is 
immortal.      The     eternal     home. 
The  everlasting  habitation. 
The  eternal  home. 


Page 

256  n.  '  Adjuro  (vos)  Yiri  BancH  omnes 
Chri.siiaui,  et  te,  custe  (costode) 
beati  Juliani,  Deo  et  tremenda  die 
judicii,  ut  hunc  sepulchrum  nunqam 
uUo  tempore  violetur,  sed  conserve- 
tur  usque  ad  finem  mundi,  ut  prosim 
sine  impedimenta  in  vita  redire, 
cum  venerit  que  judicaturus  est 
vivos  et  mortuos.  .  .  . 

I  adjure  you  all,  0  holy  Christ- 
ians, and  thee,  0  keeper  of  the 
happy  Julian,   by  God,  and  by 
the  feartul  day  of  judgment,  tliat 
this  tomb  may  never  at  any  time 
be  violated,  but  may  be  guarded 
even  to  the  end  of  the  world, 
that  I  may  without  hinderance 
return  to  life,  when  he  shall  come 
and  judge  the  living  and  the  dead. 
^  Male  pereat,  insepultus  jaceat,  non 
resurgar  cum  Juda  partem  habeat, 
siquis  sepulchram  hunc  violaverit. 
If  any    one    shall   violate    this 
tomb,  let  him  miserably  perish, 
let  him  lie  unburied,  let  him  not 
rise  again,  let  him  liave  his  por- 
tion with  the  Jew ! 
3  Perire.     ■*  Vita  privatus. 
To  perish.     Deprived  of  life. 
257.      '  Vale,  have  or  ave,  salve,  X'^'^P^- 
Farewell. 
"^  Spiritus  luus  in  pace. 
Thy  spirit  in  peace. 
^  Pax  tibi. 

Peace  to  thee. 
*  In  pace  domini. 

In  the  peace  of  the  Lord. 
'  Pax  tecum. 

Peace  be  with  thee. 
^  Vivas,  vives,  vivis. 
Mayest  thou  live. 
■•  Vivas,  vives,  vivis  in  Christo,  in 
Deo,  in  gloria  Dei,  in  Domino  Jesu, 
etc. 

Mayest  thou  live  in  Christ,  in 
God,  in  the  glory  of  God,  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  etc. 


>  These  translations  are  made  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  not  familiar  with  the  classical 
languages.  Some  of  the  texts  are  fragmentary,  some  quite  indistinct,  and  others  of  doubtful 
meaning.  Some  are  characterized  by  incorrect  orthography,  others  by  very  wide  departure  from 
classical  construction,  and  still  others  by  a  barbarous  commingling  of  Greek  and  Latin  charac- 
ters and  words,    v.  p.  251. 


576 


TRANSLATION   OF   INSCRIPTIONS. 


INSCRIPTIONS  IN  PLATE  III. 


No. 
1. 


10. 


12. 
13. 


17. 


19. 


Severa  in  Deo  vivas. 
Severa,  mayest  thou  live  in  God  1 

Florentiiis  in  pace. 
Florentius  in  peace. 

Moiiff7/f  (^wv  enoLTjCEV  Atu  koi  ttj  yvvvEKt. 
Moses  (?)  while  living  erects  this 
to  Atus  (?)  and  his  spouse. 

Aurelius  Castus  m.  VIII.  Fecit  filio 

suo  Antonia  Sperantia. 

Aurelius  Castus  (innocent  ?)  eight 
months  old.  Anionia  Sperantia 
erects  tliis  to  her  son. 

Vipas  (vivas  ?)  Pondz  (?)  (Pontius  ?) 

in  aeferuo. 

Pontius,  mayest  thou  live  for- 
ever. (?) 

Bripariovg  NcKaropag  Aal^apiy  Km  lov- 

Tiiy  Kai  OvTiaifi^Kov  (u  ?)  (piltovg  (o/f  ?) 

bene   merentes.     Ohiu7it  .    ,    .    octa 

.  .  .  uga. 

Beratius  (Veratius  ?)  Nicatoras  to 
Lazartis  (?)  and  Julia  and  Onesiraa- 
cus  (Onesinuis?)  well  -  deserving 
friends.  (?)  They  died  o)i  the  eighth 
(day  ?  month  ?)...? 
A  barbarous  combination  of  Greek 
and  Latin. 

Sabinus  coj^jugi  suae  Coelerine,  bene- 

merenti  qua3  vixit  annis  LV  Mensibus 

VI  Biebus  XV.     In  pace. 

Sabinus  to  his  well-deserving 
spouse,  Celerina,  who  lived  55 
years,  6  months,  and  15  days.  In 
peace. 

ApTe/niaiog  B(V)tvi(EVTiai  avvfiiu.     Ev 

ELprp^tj. 

Artemisios  to  his  wife  Vincentia. 
In  peace. 

A  fnigrnent  whose  reading  must  be 

conjectural. 

Sabinaque  (fe)vixie  (t)  Annis  XXVI  M 

ensibus  V. 

Sabina  who  lived  26  years  and  5 
months. 

Qui  vixit  ansis  (nis)  Villi  .  .  .  ti  in 

pace. 

Who  lived  9  years  ...  in  peace. 

Varonius  Fillumenus  Varroniai  Foti- 

nite  fiilise  suae  fecit. 

Varonius  Filumenus  made  this 
(tomb)  to  his  daughter,  Varonia 
Fotina. 

Tl/CTrof  £/£  TviGTuv,  Zuffi/io^  £v6a6eKeifj.e 

'Lijcaq  ETsaiv  (i.  fi.t/.a.  k.  £.. 

A  believer  of  believers,  Zosimus, 
here  lies,  having  lived  2  years,  1 
month,  25  days. 


No. 
22. 


24. 


26. 


27. 


43. 


45. 


47. 


48. 


49. 


Marcus  Aurelius  Ammianus  fecit 
sibi  ct  conjuj(gr)i  suae  Conielise  rufe- 
rati  (?)  bene  combenientibus. 

Marcus  Aurelius  Ammianus  made 
(this  tomb)  for  himself  and  his  wife 
Cornelia    (ruferati  ?)   havmg   lived 
happily  together. 
"  Domna,"  with  the  anchor,  imphes 
the  death  of  the  departed  in  hope  of 
the  resurrection. 
Rufinse  in  Pace. 

To  Rutina  in  peace. 
Agape  qufe    vixit   annzs-}-V-|-Mewsi- 
52<s+II-f-dieb'.<.s-|-XXII.      Irene   quae 
vixit    annt^  +  III  +  m  + VII  +  diebtw  + 
V  + Julius  urbanus  pater  +  fecit. 
To    Agape   wlio   lived  5  years,   'i 
months,   22  days.     To  Irene  who 
lived  3  years,    7   months,  5   days. 
JuUus  Urbauus,  the  fatlier,  made 
(this  tomb.) 
+  Vtt(?)  Lucius  Be?2e  Mere?if. 
(?)  Lucius,  well-deserving. 
Lucilla  in  pace. 

Lucilla  in  peace. 
Romania  Sabinus. 
A  fragment  of  uncertain  meaning. 
Petrus  —  Paulus.  —  Asellu(io)   bene 
nierenti    qui    vicxit    annu(is)    sex, 
mesis  (mensibus)  octo   dies   (diebus) 
XXTII. 

Peter  .  .  .  Paul  ...  To   Asellus, 
the    well-deserving,   who    lived   6 
years,  8  months,  23  days, 
Victoria   qute   vixit    cum   Virginium 
suum    aunos  (is)    XIII    menses  (ibus) 
duo  dies(ebus)  XXII.  deposita  nonn. 
kalendas  Augustas.     In  paca3(e). 
Victoria  who  lived  with   her  lius- 
band  Virginius  13  years,  2  months, 
22  days.     Buried  the  ninth  before 
the  kalends  of  August.     In  peace. 
(Barbarous  Latin.) 
In  pace  (above)  VII.  M.  .  X.  D.  V.D. 
on  side. 

In  peace.     7   months,   10  days.  (?) 
Depositus  est  Januarius  III  I  Idus  Sept 
qui  vixit  ann(is)  II,  m.  XL.     In  pace. 
Januarius     was     buried     on     the 
fourth  of  the  Ides  of  September, 
who  lived  2  years,  11  months.     In 
peace. 
A  fragment — not   capable   of   being 
translated. 
Severte  virgin!  quce  vixit  ann. 

To  the  virgin  Severa  who  lived  (?) 
years. 


TRANSLATION   OF   INSCRIPTIONS. 


577 


INSCRIPTIONS  IN  PLATE  IV. 


No. 
5. 


10. 


11. 
14. 


15. 
16. 


17. 


IS. 


Parentes  filio  Axungio  bene  merenti 

in  pace  qui  vixit  aunis  VI.  m.X  De 

Positus  VII  Kedeiidas  Octobris. 

The  parents  to  Axuncius  well-de- 
serving, in  peace,  wlio  lived  6  years 
10  months.  Buried  on  the  seventh 
before  the  kalends  of  October. 

?  y  Calendas  Julias.     Leo  (ni)  bene 

merenti  qui   vixit  annus  (is)  XXVI 

dies(ebusj  XXX. 

The  first  part  a  fragment.  The 
last  runs,  To  Leo,  well-deserving, 
whe  lived  26  years  30  days. 

EA?i/vof  Kac  ilrepa  'Evarjfiu^  yXvKvraTu 

-sAEvra  ETCJV  i.  M.  i(3. 

Ellinus  and  Otera  to  the  very 
precious  Eusebius  who  died  at  7 
years  and  12  months. 

Bepositus    Eutropies   VII    KaAendas 

Octobris. 

Eutropius  buried  the  seventh  be- 
fore the  kalends  of  October. 

Aurelia  Serice  quae  vixit  annis  XXXI 

mensis  III  B.iebus  XVI.     Fecit  Au- 

relius  Primus  cowjugi  sure  dulcissime 

(se)  bene  merenti  in  pace. 

Aurelia  Serica,who  lived  31  years, 
3  months,  16  days.  Aurelius  Pri- 
mus erected  (this)  to  his  most  pre- 
cious spouse,  well  deserving.  In 
peace. 

Lucina  ^lidora  ad  Deo  data,  in  pace, 

nil  Ideis  Mar.   Annonmi.  (?)     Bene 

merenti  in  pace  Fratri.  (?) 

Lucina  ^■I'^lidora  given  to  God  in 
peace  the  fourth  of  the  Ides  of 
March.  ? 

Alexandra  in  pace. 
Alexandra  in  peace. 

Severe  bene  merenti  fecerunt  parentes 

in  pace  quae  vixit  anno  ?  d\ebm  XX. 
To  Severa  well-deserving  the  pa- 
rents erect  (this)  in  peace  who 
lived  years  ?  20  days. 

A  Fragment. 

Januarise  conjugi  bene  merenti  quae 

vixit  ?  annis  XX. 

To  Januaria  the  well-deserving 
wife  who  lived  ?  .  20  years. 

Elis+et-[-Nictoria  parentes  fiilise  ben 

merenti  quce  vixit  annis  II  mensibiis 

iii. 

Elis  and  Victoria,  the  parents, 
to  the  daughter  well-deserving  who 
lived  2  years  3  months. 

Eristitus   et   Felicia  parentes   Felici 

filio  dulcissimo  bene  merenti  qui  vixit 


26. 


52. 


57. 


65. 


annis  XIIII  mensis  VII  dies  XVIIL 

Te  in  pace. 

The  parents,  Eristitus  and  Feli- 
cia, to  Felix  the  dearest  and  well- 
deserving  son,  who  lived  14  years, 
7  months,  18  days.     Thee  in  peace. 

Lucifer  pater  tilias  Ursae  benemerent(i) 

quce  vixit  aunis  III  diebiis  XXI. 
Lucifer  the  father  to  the  daugh- 
ter Ursa,  well-deserving,  who  lived 
3  years,  21  days. 

Bibbeo  v(b)ene  merenti. 
To  Bibbeus  well-deserving. 

Flavia  hie  posita. 
Flavia  here  buried. 

Phocina. 

Aelia   B(V)ictorina    posuit    Aureliae 

Probae. 

^lia  Victorina  placed  (this)  to 
Aurelia  Proba. 

Africaue   te  in  ?   Maximinns  ei  tu  ? 

qui.  vit.  annos  III  m  VII  et  ? 

0  Africanus  thee  in  ?  Maximinus 
and  thou  ?  who  lived  3  years  7 
months  and  ? 

?  ae  bene   merenti    filiaR    dulcissimce 

qure  vixit  ann.  XXII  mensis  XI  dies 

XVIIII.  deposita  die  IIII  Kalendas 

Maias.  in  pace.  Parentis  fecerunt. 
?  to  the  well-deserving  and  most 
precious  daughter  who  lived  22 
years,  11  months,  19  days.  Buried 
on  the  fourth  before  the  kalends 
of  May.  In  peace.  The  parents 
erected  (this  monument). 

Asurus+In  p(ace)  vixit  an.  VII. 
Asurus  in  peace  lived  7  years. 

Vixit  anis. 

He  lived  years.  ? 

A  Fragment. 

A  Fragment. 

Firmia  Victora  que  vixit  annis  LXV. 
Firmia  Victoria  who  lived  65  years. 

Aurelio  Felio  qui  b(v)  ixit  cum  com- 

jugio   bone    memorie   b(i')ixit   annos 

Iv.     Raptus  eterne  domus  XII  Kal. 

Januarius.  (Barbarous  Latin.) 
To  Aurelius  Felius  who  lived 
with  his  spouse  well  remembered 
55  3'ears.  Snatched  to  his  eternal 
home  the  twelfth  before  the  kalends 
of  January. 

Eleutherio  in  pace  de^josfto  III  Kal. 

Jan. 

To  Eleutherius  in  pence.  Buried 
the  third  before  the  kalends  of  Jan- 
uary. 


TRANSLATION   OF   INSCRIPTIONS. 


INSCRIPTIONS  OP  PLATE  V. 


No. 

1.    Decessit. 

He  has  departed. 
2,  3.  Depositus.    Buried.    Sepultus.    Bur- 
ied. 

4.  Karadeaig  ^adiavrjQ. 

Burial.     Phadianes  (?) 

5.  'iS.arco  Aurelio.  Awgustorum,  lib- 
erto.  Proseneti  a  cubiculo  Xugusti. 
Tprocuratori  thesaurorum  procwraton 
patrimoni-  pvocuratori  vinorum  ordi- 
nato  a  divo  Commod  •  in  castrense  pa- 
trono  piissimo  liberti  beuemerenti  sar- 
cophagum  de  suo  adornaverunt. 

To   Marcus  Aurelius    Proseues,  a 
freedman  of  tlie  Augustii,   of  the 
cubicuhim  (?)  of  the  emperor,  the 
keeper  of  the  treasury,  overseer  of 
the  paternal  estate,  superintendent 
of  the  gifts,  keeper  of  the  wines, 
appointed  by  the  divine   Commo- 
dns  in  charge  of  the  camp ;  to  their 
patron  most  pious  and  well-deserv- 
ing,   his   freedmen,    of  their   own 
means,  have   adorned   this   sarco- 
phagus. 
5".  Prosenes  receptus  ad  Deum,  V.  Non  ?  ? 
Reqrediens  in  .  .  .  urbe  ab  expedi- 
tionibus  scripsit  Ampelius  Vihertus. 
Presenes   being  received   to   God 
on  the  fifth  of  the  Nones  .  .  .  Ampe- 
hus,  his  freedman,  returning  to  the 
city  (?)  from  his  expeditions,  wrote 
(this  inscription). 
"7.    Aurelia  dulcissima  filia  qu?e  de  seculo 
recessit  vixit  annis  XV  ■  Mensibus  HIT 
Severo  et  Quintino,  Coss. 

Amelia  a  much  beloved  daughter 

who  has  departed  this  life  lived  15 

years,  4  months,  Severus  and  Quin- 

tinus  being  consuls. 

8.    'Hpo«/l<rof  (-(j)  feo(6j)  (fuTieararoc  Ktj- 

aev  iT[r])  i)  napn  ■^{fiepa^)  Ty  evoutjofv 

7jfi{fpaq)  //3,  rekevTa^Tzpola  K[alev6uv) 

Ma<(wv)  (YA)7r/w  KaL  YlovTiavuvn  (aroig) 


' Avp{j]7.ioq)  EavOiaq  narr/p  T£Kvuy7.vKV- 

repcf)  (puTOQ  Kat  C,uJ]q. 

Heraclitus,  the  well-beloved  of 
God,  having  lived  almost  8  years 
and  13  days,  being  sick  12  days, 
died  on  the  11th  before  the  Kal- 
ends of  Ma3%  Ulpius  and  Pontianus 
being  consuls.  Aurelius,  the  father, 
held  this  child  more  dear  than  light 
and  life. 
9.    Acliad  ...  am  possut^  .  .  .  XIII  Kal. 

Aug.  EmiZmwo  II  et  Aquilino  Cons. 

Dormit. 

A  broken  inscription ;  the  last 
reads:  the  thirteenth  before  the 
kalends  of  August,  Emilianus  the 
second  time  and  Aquilinus  being 
consuls.     He  sleeps. 

10.  "LenTi^Loq-  Tlpa{tTe^Ta)To[q)  Kai  K  • .  .  . . 
6  doii/lof  ■  Tov  (6eo)v  a^LUQ  .  .  .  bv  fier- 
avoTjaa.  Kav  ude  aoi  vTrep<7T?/aa  Kai  ev- 
Ka{pLc)rTiau.  tu  bvoftari..  gov  Tra{peihKe) 
TTjv  '^vx{i]v)  (t)w  ^ecj.     Tpiavra  rpiu(y) 

.    .     .     ff  fJiJlVUV. 

Septimius  Pretextatus  (?)  and 
...  a  servant  of  God  (having  lived) 
worthily.  I  cannot  repent  myself 
to  have  thus  served  thee,  and  I 
render  thanks  to  thy  name.  He 
gave  his  soul  back  to  God  at  33 
years  and  6  months.     (?) 

11.  'Evjis{o()p{e)iTu'  ovpavia  6vyaT//p- 
'Jlpu6pg-  (?) 

Maye&t  thou  have  good  passage 
to  heaven  0  daughter  of  Heroda.  (?) 

12.  ApfiEvia  •  ^ri7\.iKiraQ  •  A/aa  ■  Pt/yiva. 

Armenia  ■  Felicitas  ■  (Elia  •  Re- 
gina. 

13.  Januara  co(n)jugi  bene  merente(i) 
Gorgono  magislro  •  primo     (?) 

Januara  to  her  well-deserving 
husband  Gorgonus,  the  master. 

14.  Leontina  {t)n  Deo  pax. 

Leontina  in  God  peace. 


INSCRIPTIONS  OF  PL  .ATE  VL 

BEING   CHIEFLY   OF   DOCTRINAL    IMPORT. 


1.  Vidua  P  (?)  feheissima !  InDeovives. 

0  widow  most  fortunate !    May  est 
tliou  live  in  God ! 

2.  Ursina  vibes  Deo. 

Ursina,  mayest  thou  live  in  God ! 

3.  '"Evrvxic  l^urepiy  cv/ifiuj  naT^uq  r/  ^lu- 
fiEVT)  inoiTjaa  t,ri  tv  Oeu. 


Eutychis  to  Soterie    my  compan- 
ion   well  honoured   (?).      I    have 
made    (this).     May    she    live    in 
God. 
4.    Fortunata  vives  in  Deo. 

Fortunata,    mayest    thou    live    in 
Godl 


TRANSLATION  OF   INSCRIPTIONS. 


579 


No. 
5. 


9. 

10. 


11. 


12. 


13. 


MEM? 

Ululius  (Vitulius  ?)  Calligonis  semper 
ill  Deo  vivas  •  dulcis  aniina. 

Vilulius    Calligonis,    niayest    thou 
ever  live  in  God,  sweet  spirit. 
Faustina  dulcis  bibas  in  Deo. 

Sweet  Faustina,  maye.st  thou  live 
in  God! 
Vibas  in  deo.  feci     Qui  ? 

Maj'est  thou  live  in  God.  I  have 
made  (this).  ?  .  .  . 
Bono  atque  (?)  dulcissimo  co?^jugi 
Castorino  qui  vixit  anuis  LXI  mensi- 
bus  ■  V  ■  dies  X.  Benemerenti  uxor 
fecit.    Vive  in  Deo. 

To  her    dear   and    well     beloved 

husband,  Castorinus,  who  lived  61 

years,  5  months,  10  days.     To  him 

well-deserving  the  wife  erects(this). 

Live  thou  in  Godl 

Lucida  in  Deu/«.  B(V)ixit  annuos  XI. 

Lucida  in  God.  She  lived  11  years. 

D.  P. 

Lucifere    corajugi  dulcissime    omnen 

(m)  dulcitudinem  cum  luctu  maxime 

(o)  marito  reliquit  .  .  .  et  meruit  ti- 

tulum  inscribi  ut  quisque  de  fratribus 

legeret  roget  deu?/i  ut  sancto  et  inno- 

centi  spiritoad  deum  suscipiatnr.Quae 

vixit  annos  XXII  me/ises  Villi  dies 

VI. 

D.  P.         (?) 

To  Lucifera  the  dearly-beloved  wife 
who  left  to  her  husband  in  the 
deepest  sorrow  all  pleasantness  and 
who  deserves  that  this  epitaph 
should  be  inscribed  that  whoever 
of  the  brothers  shall  read  may  be- 
seech God  that  with  a  saintly  and 
sinless  spirit  slie  maj^  be  received 
to  God.  Who  lived  22  years,  9 
months,  6  days.' 
Pactum  (?)  et  tidellism  (?)  aput(?)  deum 
et  pro  spirito. 

The    translation    is    not    easy  on 
account  of  the  h-agmentary  charac- 
ter of  the  inscription. 
Bolosa  dens  tibi  refugeret  quae  vixit 
annos    XXXI  recessit  die  XIII  kal 
Octobres. 

0  Bolosa  (Volosa  ?),  may  God  re- 
fresh thee !     Who  livedst  31  years. 
She  departed  on   the   13th  before 
the  kalends  of  October. 
Amerimnus  Rufinfe  corejugi  carissimo 
bene  merenti  spiritum  tuum  Deus  re- 
refrigeret. 

Amerimus  to  Rufina  his  precious 


18. 


19. 


22. 


vi^ife,  well-deservmg.    May  God  re- 
fresh thy  spirit! 
Refrigera  deus  auimam  Horn.  (?) 

Refresh,  0  God,  the  spirit  of  Hom  (?) 
Lais  cum  pace  .  .  .  ispiritus  in  bonu/n 
quescat.     (Barbaric  Latin  ) 

Lais    with  peace,   that   thy   spirit 
may  rest  well. 
A  Fragment. 
Regina  vibas  in  domino  Zesu. 

Regina,    mayest  thou    live  in  the 
Lord  Jesus ! 
Bibas  in  Christo  Constantia  m  pace 
Quae  vixit  annos  LV  (?)  fecit  (?)  bene. 
Mayest  thou  live  in  Christ  I    Con- 
stantia who  lived  in  peace  55  (?) 
years,  (made  this)  ? 
Suscepta  Colonica  in   ^   quae  requi- 
evit  vixit  ann  XI  dep  in  Nov. 

Colonica   who  rested  in  peace  re- 
ceived in  Christ.  She  lived  40  years, 
having  been  Buried  in  November. 
In  -^  Aselus  D  ? 

In  Christ  Aselus    ? 
.  .  .  Erre  recepit  corpus  Livi  ...  X 
decern  et  quaterque   binos   hie  .  .  . 
eslersos  terre  solutus  anima  Christo 
reddita  est. 

This  is  too  fragmentary  to  fur- 
nish a  key  to  the  sense. 
Mirite  bonitatis  adque  inemitabilis 
sanctitatis  totius  castitatis  rari  exen 
(m)pli  feminab  castae  bonae  b(v)it^  et 
pietrtte  in  omnibus  gloriosae  Braitioe 
dignitati,  quae  vixit  annos  XXXIII 
quce  sine  lesione  animi  mei  v\x\t  me 
cum  annos  XV  filiosautem  procreavit 
VII  ex  quibus  si  (e)  cum  Aabet  domi- 
num  mill. 

To  a  female,  of  admirable  good- 
ness, and  of  inimitable  sanctity, 
of  entire  purity  a  rare  example, 
chaste,  of  good  and  pious  life,  re- 
nowned in  all  things,  to  Brattia 
Dignitas  who  lived  33  years,  who 
without  vexation  of  my  spirit  lived 
with  me  15  years.  She  bore  7 
sons,  6  of  whom  she  has  with  the 
Lord.  (?) 
B(V)ictorina  in  pace  et  in  ^  . 

Victorina  in  peace  and  in  Christ. 
Anima  dulcis  incomparabili  lilio  qui 
vixit  anuis  •  XVII  non  X  ■  meritus 
vitam  reddifZit  in  pace  domini. 

A  sweet  spirit!  To  an  incom- 
parable son  who  lived  less  than 
17  years.  Worthy  he  gave  back  his 
life  in  the  peace  of  the  Lord.  (?) 


'  There  has  been  much  difference  of  opinion  relative  to  the  reading  and  interpretation  of  this 
Inscription.    Some  prefer  to  read  in  the  vocative  the  opening  name,  and  understand  reliquisti. 


580 


TRANSLATION   OF   INSCRIPTIONS. 


No. 

25.  Merenti  •  te  cu  m  pa  c  e  ?  A  frag- 
ment. 

26.  A  fragment. 

27.  Eif))/vr/  ->i  ilivxi)  oov  o  BvxoXei. 

Peace  to  thy  spirit,  0  Xucholis ! 

28.  ^i/iov/xEV>/  Ev  tLpr)vi)  aov  to  wvev/ia. 

Pliilomena,  thy  spirit!  in  peace! 

29.  Eipr/i>rj  aov  ry  ^v^y  Zwct^///;. 

Peace  to  thy  spirit,  0  Zosimus. 

30.  Agape  vibes  in  eternum. 

Agapa,  mayest  thou  live  forever  1 

31.  Marcus  puer  innocens  •  esse  jam  in- 
ter innocenti  (e)  s  ccepisti  5am  stau  (b) 
ilo(i)s  tiv  (b)  i  ha3c  vita  est  quum  te 
laetum  excipe(i)t  mater  eclesise  de 
hoc  mundo  revertentem  comprema- 
tur  pectorum  genitus.  o&struatur  fle- 
tus  oculorum. 

Marcus,  thou  innocent  boy,  thou 
hast  already  begun  to  be  among 
the  blameless.  How  permanent  is 
that  life  which  now  is  thine !  How 
the  mother,  the  Church,  receives 
thee  returning  joyful  from  this  life, 
that  the  sighings  of  the  heart  may 
be  suppressed,  that  the  weeping  of 
the  eyes  may  be  staj^ed. 
D  .  Ma  .  .  Sacrum  XL. 

32.  Leopardum  in  pacem  cum  spirita 
sancta.  acceptum.  eninte  abeatis  in- 
noci(e)ntem  posuer  .  ,  par  .  .  .  Q  .  . 
Ann.  VII  •  men  .  .  VII. 

Sacred  to  the  gods  of  the  lower 
realm.  (XL?)  Leopardus  received 
in  peace  among  the  sacred  spirits, 
hold  ye  him  as  innocent.  (?)  Tlie 
parents  placed  (this  inscription). 
"Wlio  lived  7  years,  7  months. 

33.  Spirita  sancta  =  sacred  spirits. 

34.  A  fragment  whose  reading  is  conjec- 
tural. 

35     Maximianus  Saturnina  dormit  in  pace. 

Maximianus   and    Saturnina   sleep 

in  peace. 
36,  Suscipe  terra  tuo  corpus  de  corpore 
sumta  retdef  cot  baleas  bibificante 
A  sic  Gregorini  lim  truber  in  pace 
tutalur  in  pace  pa  .  u  .  iter  cum  ejus 
Piperusa  jugali  ejus. 

Receive,    O   earth,  a    body    taken 

from  thy  body. 

Thus  of  Gregory  in  peace  together 

with    his   spouse    Piperosa.     (Tlie 

whole  readmg  is  doubtful.) 

37     Vivere  qui  prestat  morientia  semina 

terra=*  solvere  qui  potuit  letalia  viii- 

cula  mortis  .  .  Depositus  Liberianus 

III  Idus  Augusta-'i  q?<estas  in  pacem. 

He    wlio    can    cause    the    dying 

germs  of  earth   to  live,  who  can 


No. 


38. 


39. 


break  the   flital   chains  of  death 

.  .  Liberianus  buried  the  third  ot 

the  Ides  of  August.     Mayest  thou 

rest  in  peace  I 

Hie  mihi  semper  dolor  erit  in  sevo  et 

tuum   b(v)enerabilem    vultuin    liceat 

videre  sopore  conjunx  Albana  quae 

mihi   semper   casta   pudica   relictura 

me   tuo   gremio    queror    quod    mihi 

sanctum  te  dederat  divinitus  autor  re- 

lictis  tuis  jaces  in  pace  sopore  merita 

resurgis  temporalis  tibi  data  requetio. 

Quae  vixit  annis  XLV  men  .  .  V  (?) 

dies  XIII  do?-TOit  in  pace  fecit  Cyri- 

acus  maritus. 

Here  there  will  ever  be  to  me 
grief  during  my  life,  and  it  may  be 
permitted  to  see  in  dreams  thy  ven- 
erated countenance,  0  my  spouse, 
who  wast  ever  to  me  chaste  and 
modest.  I  sorrow  that  I  am  sep- 
arated from  thy  embrace,  since  the 
Divine  author  had  given  thee  to 
me  as  something  sacred.  Having 
left  thine  own  thou  liest  in  the 
peace  of  dreaming.  0  worthy  one, 
thou  shalt  arise.  The  repose  given 
thee  is  only  temporary.  Who  lived 
45  years,  five  months,  13  days. 
She  sleeps  iu  peace.  The  husband, 
Cyriacus,  made  (this  monument). 
D  M.  S. 

Florentius  tilio  suo  Aproniano  fecit 
titulum  benemerenti  qui  vixit  annum 
et  menses  novem  dies  quinque  cum 
sol  do  a(?)matus  fuisset  a  majore 
sua  et  vidit  hunce  morti  constitum 
esse  petivit  de  jeclesia  ut  fidelis  de 
seculo  .  .  .  recessisset. 

Sacred  to  the  Manes. 
Florentinus  made  this  inscription  to 
his  well-deserving  son,  Aprouianus, 
who  lived  a  year,  9  months,  and 
5  days,  and   since    he    had   been 
greatly   beloved   by    his    ancestor 
and  saw  that  he  was  appointed  unto 
death,  he  besought  tlie  Church  that 
he,    a    faithful   one,    might    retire 
from  this  life.  (?) 
A  very  fragmentary  inscription. 
(Smpbteio     benemerenti     qui     vixit 
annis  •    II '     et    post    adceptionem 
suam  dies  •  XXVI  •  dep  .  .  V  nonas 
Feb  .  .  in  pace  .  .  acrius  qui   vixit 
ann  .  .  XII  tilio  suo  fecit  in  pace. 
To   Simplicius    (?)    well-deserving 
who  lived  51  years,  and  after  his 
acceptance    26   days.      Buried    on 
the  fifth  of  the  nones  of  February 
in  peace.     (?)  made  this  for  his  son 
who  lived  12  years.     In  peace 


TRANSLATION   OF   INSCRIPTIONS. 


581 


TRANSLATION  OF  INSCRIPTIONS  ON  PLATE  VIL 

INSCKIPTIONS   OF   POPE   DAMASUS. 


No. 

1.  Fama  refert  satictos  duduni  retulisse 
parentes  AKiiem  cum  Itigubres  cantiis 
tuba  conciepuisset  nutricis  gremium 
subito  lignisse  puellani  sponte  trucis 
calcasse  miu.is  rubiemqzte  tyranni 
iirere  cum  fiammis  voluisse  nobile 
corpus .  viribjw  iu(m)  mensum  parvis 
superasse  cimorem  nudaque  profusum 
crinem  per  membra  deiiisse  ne  Do- 
mini teiiiplum  facies  peritiira  videret' 
0  veneianda  mihi  sanctum  decus 
alma  pudoris  ut  Damasi  precibzw 
faveas  precor  inclyta  martyr. 

ReporL  says  that  when  she  iiad 
recently  been  snatched  away  from 
her  parents,  '  when  the  trumpet 
pealed  forth  its  terrible  clangor, 
the  virgin  Agues  suddenly  left  the 
breast  of  her  nurse  and  willingly 
braved  the  threats  and  rage  ot  the 
tyrant  who  wished  to  liave  her  no- 
ble form  burned  in  flames.  Though 
of  so  little  strength  she  checked 
her  extreme  fear,  and  covered  her 
nude  members  with  her  abundant 
hair  lest  mortal  eye  might  see  the 
temple  of  the  Lord.  O  thou  dear 
one,  worthy  to  be  venerated  by  me ! 
0  sacred  dignity  of  modesty  !  Be 
thou  favourable,  I  beseech  thee,  0 
illustrious  martyr!  to  the  prayers 
of  Damasus! 

2.  0  semel  acque  iterum  vero  de  no- 
mine Feli.x  que  intemerata  fide  con- 
tempto  principe  mundi  confessus 
Christum  coelestia  regna  petisti. 
O  vere  pretiosa  fides  cognoscite  fra- 
tres  qua  ad  ccehim  victor  pariter  pro- 
peravit  Adauctus.  Presbyter  his  ve- 
rus  Daniaso  rectore  jubentecomposuit 
tumulum  sanctorum  limina  adornans. 

0  tliou,  once  and  again  afipropri- 
ately  named  Feli.x !  and  with  a  faith 
inviolate,  defying  the  prince  of  the 
world  and  confessing  Christ,  hast 
reached  tlie  heavenly  realms.  0 
truly  precious  faith  (recognise  it,  0 
brothers)  by  which  Adauctus,  a 
victor,  has  mounted  steadily  to 
heaven. . .  .  berus,  ihe  presbyter,  by 
the  order  of  Damasus,  the  rector, 
has  built  this  tomb,  adoring  the 
habitation  of  the  saints. 
3,  4.  Damas\is  Episcopus  fecit.  Heraclius 
vetuit  lab(p)sos  peccata.  dolere.  Eii- 
sebius    miseros    docuit   sua    crimina 


No. 

flere.     Scinditur  partes  populus  glis- 
scente  furore  seditio  caedes    bellum 
discordia     lites.       extemplo    pariter 
pulsi  feritate  tyranni  ■    Integra  cum 
recior  servaret  foedera  pacis  •  pertulit 
exilium    ciomino    sub     judice    Isetus 
litore    Trinacrio    mundum    vitamqwe 
reliquit  Eusebio  Bpiscopo  et  martyri. 
Damasus  the   bishop   made  (this). 
Heraclius    forbade    the    lapsed    to 
grieve    for    their    sins.     Eusebius 
taught  these  wretched  ones  to  wash 
away    their    crimes    by    weeping. 
The  populace  was  divided  into  par- 
ties; with  swelling  fury  there  are 
seditious,  murders,  war,  discords, 
quarrels.     For  an  example  (or,  ac- 
cording  to   a    suggested    reading, 
"  straightway  ")  by  the  cruelty  of 
the  tyrant  both  are  driven  into  ex- 
ile, although  the  rector   was   pre- 
serving intact  the  pledges  of  peace. 
He  bore  the  exile  joyfully  under 
the  Lord,  his  judge.     On  the  Sicil- 
ian coast  he  gave  up  the  world  and 
life.     'I'o  Eusebius,  bishop  and  mar- 
tyr.^On  the  sides,  running  verti- 
cally, is  the  following  inscription: 
Damasi  sui  pappaj  cultor  atque  ama- 
tor  Furius  Dyonisius  Filocalus  scrib- 
sit. 

The  fosterer  and  friend  of  Pope 
Damasus,  Furius  Dyonisius,  Filo- 
calus wrote  (this). 

5.  A  fragment. 

6.  Cum  periturae  GeiEe  posuissent  castra 
sub  urbe  moverunt  Sanctis  bella  ne- 
fanda  prius  istiique  sacrilego  verte- 
runt  corde  sepulchra  martyribusquan- 
dam  rite  sacrata  piis  ■  quos  monstrante 
deo  Damasus  sibi  papa  probatos 
afBxo  monuit  carmine  jure  coli.  Sed 
periit  titulus  confracto  marmore  sanc- 
tus  •  nee  tamen  his  iterum  posse  pe- 
rire  fuif  diruta  Vigilius  nam  mox 
hfec  papa  gemiscens  hostibus  expul- 
sis  omne  notavit  opus. 

When  the  Getfe  about  to  perish  had 
pitched  their  camp  under  (the  walls 
of)  the  city,  they  waged  a  nefari- 
ous warfare  against  the  saints,  and 
also  directed  it  against  the  sepul- 
chres once  duly  dedicated  to  the 
pious  martyrs.  Under  the  guid- 
ance of  God,  pope  Damasus,  of  him- 
self, gave   notice   in   a   poem  in- 


582 


TRANSLATION   OF   INSCRIPTIONS. 


scribed  on  them,  that  they  could  be 
lawfully  worshipped.  But  the  mar- 
ble havhig  beeu  shattered,  this  sa- 
cred inscription  has  perished.  Nev- 
ertheless it  was  not  possible  to 
utterly  destroy  these,  since  imme- 
diately after  the  enemy  had  been 
driven  out,  the  pope,  Vigil,  greatly 
sorrowing  over  these  ruins,  re- 
stored every  work. 

7.  A  fragment. 

8.  Hie  coiijesta  jacet  quasris  si  turba 
pioriun  ■  corpora  structorum  retinent 
veneranda  sepulcln-a.  sublimes  ani- 
mas  rapuit  sibi  regia  cajli  ■  hie  comi- 
tes  Xy.sli  portant  qui  ex  hoste  tro- 
ptea  •  hie  numerus  procerum  servat 
qui  allaria  Xri  •  hie  posita  longa  vixit 
qui  in  pace  sacerdos  •  hie  confessores 
sancti  quos  Grecia  misif  iiic  juve- 
nes  pueriqwe  senes  castique  nepote  s  ■ 
quels  magi's  virgitieum  plaeuit  reti- 
nere  pudorem  •  hie  fateor  Daraasus 


volvi  mea  condere  membra  •  sed  cine- 
res  timui  sanctos  vexare  piorum. 
Here  heaped  together  rest  a 
throng  of  pious  ones,  if  thou  art 
seeking  for  them.  These  venerated 
sepulchres  hold  the  bodies  of  the 
saints.  The  regal  heavenly  palace 
has  taken  to  itself  their  lofty  souls. 
Here  are  the  companions  of  Sixtus 
who  bore  the  tropiiies  from  the 
enemy :  here  a  number  who  min- 
istered at  Christ's  altars:  here  is 
buried  a  priest  who  lived  in  long- 
continued  peace  (?) :  here  the  lioly 
confessors  whom  Greece  sent :  here 
the  youth  and  boys,  the  aged,  the 
immaculate  descendants  who  were 
pleased  to  maintain  their  virgin 
modesty.  Here,  I  confess,  0  Da- 
masus,  have  1  wished  tliat  my  mem- 
bers might  repose.  But  I  fear  to 
disturb   the   sacred   aslies   of  the 


TRANSLATION  OF  EPITAPHS  OF  PLATE  VIIL 

SECOND    HALF   OF   THE    FOURTH    CENTURY. 


1.  Parentes  •  Dionysio  filio  •  dulcissimo  • 
vixitau.Y,m.VU,d.  IX-  D.  P.  XVI  ■ 
kal.  Sept.  Constaritio  X.  Cos.  in  p. 
A  ^  i2. 

The  parents  to  their  most  precious 
son,  Diouysius.  He  lived  5  years, 
7  mouths,  9  days.  Buried  on  the 
sixteenth  before  the  Kalends  of 
September,  Cons  tan  tins  being  for 
the  tenth  time  consul.  In  peace 
in  Christ  Jesus. 

2.  A  fragment.  It  has  much  interest 
from  the  variety  of  symbols  which  it 
contains.  Its  translation  has  been 
conjectured  by  de  Rossi. 

3.  Theodora  requzevit  in  pace  die  pridie 
Noil  Septembris  D.  N.  Juliano  Aug. 
IIII  et  Salustio  Cons. 

Theodora  rested  in  peace  on  tiie 
day  before  the  Nones  of  Sep- 
tember, our  master  Julianus  Augus- 
tus, for  the  fourth  time,  and  Salus- 
lins  being  consuls. 

4.  Lupicino  et  .lovino  C.  .  .  Victories 
Q  .  An  .  XXV  . .  .  marito  fecit  An.  .  . 
XIII  et  pudicitia  omnibus  .  . 

The  reading  is  conjectural  as  fol- 
lows: Lupinus  and  Joviniu?  being 
consids,  Victoria  was  buried,  who 
lived  25  years,  and  lived  13  years 
with  her  husband,  and  was  known 
to  all  by  her  chasteness. 


5.  Mirse  sapientise  Augendo  qui  vixit 
Ann  .  plus  miu  LXXII  cum  uxore 
fecit  ann  .  XXX  •  depositus  XVI  kal . 
Octob  .  DN  Gratiano  Aug.  II  .  et 
Probo  Con.  .  .  . 

To  Augendus  of  wonderful  wis- 
dom, who  lived  72  years  more  or 
less;  with  his  wife  he  lived  30 
years.  Buried  the  sixteenth  be- 
fore the  Kalends  of  October  our 
lord  Gratianns  Augustus,  for  the 
second  time,  and  Probus  being 
consuls. 

6.  Hie  queiescit  ancilla  dei  quae  de 
sua  omnia  possedit  domuui  istajw 
que(a)m  amicae  de&eut  solaciumqwe 
requirunt.  Pro  hu(a)nc  unun(a)m 
ora  su(o)  bolem  que(a)m  superis 
titem  re^iquisti  .  aeterna  requiem 
Felicita  ?  ?  ?  XVI  ke  (a)  lendas 
Ociobris  .  Cucurbitinus  et  Abumdan- 
tius  iiic  simul  quiescitHit  d  'u 
Gratiano  V  et  T/iodosio  Aug. 

Here  rests  a  servant  of  God 
who  with  respect  to  all  her  posses- 
sions has  guarded  this  home, 
whom  lier  friends  lament  and  they 
seek  for  consolation. — Tiie  balance 
is  obscure  except  the  usual  con- 
clusion. 

7.  Theodora  quae  vixit  annos  XXI  m 
VII    d    XXIII   in    pace    est    biso- 


TRANSLATION   OF  INSCRIPTIONS. 


583 


No. 


mu(o)     amplificam     sequitur     vitam 
cum    casta   Afrodite   fecit   ad    astra 
viam    Christi    modo   gaudet   in    aula 
restitit  liaec  mundo  semper  Caelestia 
quaerens     optima     servatrix     legis 
fideique     magistra     dedit     egregiam 
Sanctis  per  saecula  mentem  inde  ex- 
imios  paradisi  reguat  odores  tempore 
continuo   veruaut  ubi  gramiua  rivis 
expectatque     deum     superas       quo 
surgat   ad  auras  hoe   posuit   corpus 
tumulo  mortalia  linqueus,  fundavitque 
locum  conjux  Evagn'us  .  .  tans  dep 
.  .  die  .  Antonio  et  Siagrio  cons  .  . 
Theodora  who    lived  21  years,    7 
months,   23  da3's,   in  peace   is   in 
this  bisomii-s,  while  chaste  Aphro- 
dite    lived     a     still    longer    life. 
She   has    made    her   way    to   the 
heavens,  and  now  rejoices  in  the 
court  of  Christ.    Slie  withstood  the 
world,    always    seeking    heavenly 
things;    the    most  excellent  guar- 
dian of  the  law  and  of  the  faith, 
she  has  given   back  to  the  saints 
her   noble    spirit,   forever.     There 
amidst    the    delightful    odors    of 
paradise    she    reigns    where    the 
grass  blooms  perpetually  by  the  wa- 
ter-brooks, she  waits    on   God  by 
whom  she  rises  to  those  supernal 
regions.     Her  husband,   Evagrius, 
pressing  forward  to  join  her,  has 
placed    this   body    in    the    tomb, 
leaving  behind   the    mortal   part, 
and  has  founded  this  place.    Buried 
on    the   day  ,    .    .    Anton  ius   and 
Siagrius  being  consuls. 
8.    Quid  loquor  aut  sileam  prohibet  dolor 
ipse   fateri :    hie    tumulus    lacrimas 
retinet;  cognosce  parentuwi  Projectae 
fiierat  primo  quae  juncta  marito,  pul- 
c/a-a  decore  suo  solo  couteuta  pudore. 
heu  dilecta  satis  miserae  geue(i)trieis 
amore!      Accipe,   quid  multis?    tha- 
iami  post  fcedera   prima,   erepta  ex 
oculis  Flori  genitoris  abiit,  aetheriam 
cupiens  caeli  conscendere  lucem  •  haec 
Damasus    praestat     cunctis     solacia 
fletus  .  Vixit   ann  XVI  m    IX  dies 
XXV  •  Dep.  Ill  kal.  Jan.  Fl.  Mero- 
baude,  et  Fl.  Saturnin.  conss  " 

Respecting  what  may  I  speak,  or 
keep  silence  ?  Grief  itself  prohib- 
its me  from  speaking;  this  tomb 
retains  my  tears.  Know  the  par- 
ents of  Projecta  (?)  who  had  scarce- 
ly had  union  with  her  husband, 
fair  in  her  comeliness,  content 
with  modesty  alone.  Alas!  be- 
loved enough  in   the  afifection  of 


an  afflicted  mother!     Are  you  sat- 
isfied that  I  say  more?  (?)     After 
the  first  union  of  the  nuptial  bed, 
snatched   from    the    eyes    of    her 
father,  Florus,  she  departed,  longing 
to  mount  to  tlie  ethereal  brightness 
of  heaven.     Damasus  offers  to  all 
the     solaces     of    weeping.      She 
lived  16  years,  9  months,  25  days. 
Buried  the  third  before  the  kalends 
of  January,    Flavius   Merobandus 
and  Saturuinus  being  consuls. 
9.    Hie  requiescit  quod  vuUdeus  houeste 
recordationes  (is)  vir  qui  vixit  annos 
LVII  depositus  in  pace  die  V  Idus 
Octobres  cons  .  .  s  D  •   N  •    Arcadio 
Aug.  quater  et  Houorio  Aug.  .  .  ter 
Consulibus. 

Here  rest  (as  God  wills  (?))  a  man 
of  worthy  memory  who  lived  57 
years,  buried  on  the  fifth  of  the 
Ides  of  October,  our  lords  Arca- 
dius  Augustus  for  the  fourth  time, 
and  Honorius  Augustus  for  the 
third  time,  being  consuls. 

10.  Hie  cesguid  (?)  Bonifatia  mulier  quae 

bixset  annus  XLVI  d  X"   Deposita 

in  pace  Cesario  et  Attico. 

A  piece  of  barbarous  Latin. 
Probably  meaning:  Here  reposes 
the  wife  Bonifatia,  who  lived  46 
years,  11  days.  Buried  in  peace. 
Caesarius  and  Atticus  being  con- 
suls. 

This  is  a  genuine  palimpsest. 
On  the  opposite  side  is  found  the 
inscription  "  Leo  et  Statia  vivi  fe- 
cerunt."  Beneatlj  a  Greek  inscrip- 
tion is  found :  'HvTvxiavu  6ovA(f) 
Qeov  'lo(y)Aiavr]  avv{jiLui). 

11.  Maxima  in  pace  quss.  vixit  annus 
plus  minus  XXXV  cons  dominis  nos- 
Iris  Onorio  iv  c  .  . .  s  . . .  et  Eutuc/d- 
ano  Cons.  Pridiae  Nonas  Septembres. 

Maxima  in  peace.  Who  lived  35 
years  more  or  less,  our  lords,  Ho- 
norius for  the  fourth  time,  and 
Eutuchianus  being  consuls.  On 
the  day  before  the  Nones  of  Sep- 
tember. 

.S93.'n.  V.  Plate  IH,  No.  19. 

477.  Mr/Tpi  KaTiaviA2.ri  epyonotu. 

To   the    Mother    Katianilla   the 
toiling  one. 

478.  Amatrix  pauperorum  et  operaria. 

The  lover  of  the  poor,  and  her- 
self a  laborer. 
478.      Leontite  cum  laboron^  suse. 

To  Leontia   together    with   her 
laborers  (?) 


584 


ABBREVIATIONS. 


lY. 

ABBREVIATIONS  USED  IN  CHRISTIAN  EPIGRAPHY". 

[Compiled  from  Martigny,  Le  Blant,  and  Babington,  for  the  use  of  students.] 


A.     Anima,  annos,  ave,  amen. 

ABBI.     Abbatis. 

A.  B.  M.     Animse  bene  merenti. 

ACOL.     Aeolytus. 

A.  D.     Ante  diem,  anima  dulcis. 

A.  D.  KAL.     Ante  diem  calendas. 

A.  K.     Ante  calendas. 

AN.     Annum,  annos,  annis,  ante. 

ANS.     Annos,  annis. 

AR,  or  APR.,  or  APL.     Aprilis. 

APOSTOR.     Apostolorum. 

A.  Q.  T.  C.     Anima  quiescat  in  Christo. 

A.  R.  T.  M.  D.     Anima  quiescat  in  manu 

Dei. 
AVG.     Augustus,  Augusti. 

B.  Benemerenti,  bixit  (for  vixit). 

B.  AN.  V.  D.  IX.     Vixit   annos  quinque 

dies  novem. 
BENER.     Venerias. 
B.  F.     Bonae  ferain«. 
BIBAT.     Bibatis  (for  vivatis). 
B.  I.  C.     Bibas  (vivas)  in  Christo. 
B.  M.,  or  BO.  M.,  or  BE.  ME.,  or  BO.  ME. 

Bonffi  memorise. 
B.  M.  F.     Benemerenti  fecit. 
BNM.,  or  BNMR.     Bene  merenti,  or  bene 

merentibus. 
BNMM.     Bonae  memoriae. 
B.  Q.     Bene  quiescat. 

B.  Q,  I.  P.     Bene  quiescat  in  pace. 
BVS.  V.     Bonus  vir. 

C.  Clarissimi,  consul,  cum. 
CAL.     Calendas. 

C.  C.     Consules,  carissimus,  or  carissima 

conjux. 
CDS.     Calendas. 

CESQ.  I.  P.    Quiescit,  or  quiescat,  in  pace. 
C.  F.     Clarissima  femina,  curavit  fieri. 
CH.     Christus. 
C.  H.  L.  S.  E.     Corpus  hoc  loco  sepultum 

(or  situm)  est. 
CL.,  or  CLR.     Clarus,  clarissimus. 
C.  L.  K.  T.     Collocatum. 
C.  L.  P.     Cum  lachrymis  posuerunt. 
CL.  V.     Clarissimus  vir. 
C.  M.  F.     Curavit  monumentum  fieri. 


C.  0.     Conjugi  Optimo. 

C.  0.  B.  Q.     Cum  omnibus  bonis  quiescas. 

COX.     Conjugi. 

CON.,  CONS.     Consulatum,    consul,    con- 

sulibus. 
CONG.     Conjux. 
CONI.     Conjugi. 
CONPRB.     Compresbyter. 
CONT.  VOT.     Contra  votum. 
COS.     Consul,  consulibus. 
COSS.     Consules,  consulibus. 
C.  P.     Clarissima  puella,  curavit  poni. 
C.  Q.     Cum  quo,  cum  qua. 
C.  Q.  F.     Cum  quo  fecit  (vixit). 
C.  R.     Corpus  requiescit. 
C.  R.  S.  M.     Cursum. 
CS.     Consul. 

C.  V.  A.     Cum  vixisset  annos. 
CVNG.     Conjux. 

CVNS.     Consolue. 

D.  Dies,  die,  defunctus,  depositus,  dormit, 

dulcis. 
DBM.     Dulcissimae  benemerenti. 
D.  B.  Q.     Dulcis,  bene  quiescas. 
D.  D.     Dedit,  dedicavit,  dies. 
D.  D.  S.     Decessit  de  saeculo. 

DE.  Deum,  die. 

DE.,  or  DEP.     Depositus,   deposita,   de- 

positio. 
DEC.     Decembris. 

DF.  Defunctus. 
DI.     Dei,  die. 
DIAC.     Diaconus. 
DIEB.    Diebus. 

D.  III.  ID.     Die  tertua  idus. 

D.  I.  P.   Dormit,  decessit,  depositus  in  pace. 

D.  M.     Dies  manibus. 

DM.     Dominum,  dormit. 

D.  M.  S.     Dies  manibus  sacrum. 

DM0.     Domino. 

DMS.     Dominus. 

D.  N.,  or  DD.  NN. 

DNI.     Domini. 

DNMO.     Domino. 

DOM.     Domini. 

DP.,  DPS.,  DPT. 

DS.     Deus. 


Domino  nostro. 


Depositus,  depositio. 


ABBREVIATIONS. 


585 


E.     Est,  et,  ejus,  erexit. 

EDS.     Idus. 

EID.     Eidus  (for  idus). 

EOR.     Eorum. 

EPI.,  EPS.,  EPVS.,  EPC.     Episcopus. 

EPISC'PT.     Episcopatus. 

ETNVM.     Eternum. 

E.  V.     Ex  voto. 

E.  VIV.  DISC.     E  vivis  discessit. 
EX.  TM.     Ex  testamento. 

F.  Fecit,  fui,  filius,  filia,  femina,  feliciter, 
felix,  fidelis,  februarius. 

F.  C.     Fieri  curavit. 

FEBVS.     Februarius. 

FF.     Filii,  fratres,  fieri  fecit. 

F.  F.  Q.     Filiis  filiabusque. 

F.  K.     Filius  carissimus,  filia  carissima. 

FL.     Filius,  Flavii. 

FLAE.     Filise. 

F.  P.  F.     Filio,  or  filite,  poni  fecit. 

FS.     Fossor,  fossoribus,  fratribus. 

F.  V.  F.     Fieri  vivus  fecit. 

F.  VI.  D.  S.  E.     Filius  sex  dierum  situs  est. 

GL.     Gloriosi. 

H.     Hora,  hoc,  hie,  hseres. 
H.  A.     Hoc  anno. 
H.  A.  K.     Ave  anima  carissima. 
H.  L.  S.     Hoc  loco  situs,  or  sepultus  est. 
H.  M.     Honesta  mulier. 
H.  M.  F.  F.     Hoc  monumentum  fieri  fecit. 
HON.     Honore. 

H.  R.  I.  P.     Hie  requiescat  in  pace. 
H.  S.     Hie  situs. 

H.  T.  F.,  or  P.     Hunc  titulum  fecerunt,  or 
posuerunt. 

I.     In,  Idus,  ibi,  illustris,  jacet,  januarius, 

Julius. 
IAN.     Januarius. 
ID.     Idus,  idibus. 
I.  D.  N.     In  dei  nomine. 
IDNE.     Indictione. 
I.  H.     Jacet  hie. 
IH.     Jesus. 
IHM.     lesum. 
IHS.     Jesus. 
IHV.     Jesu. 

IN  B.     In  bono,  in  benedictione. 
IN  D.  N.     In  dei  nomine. 
IX  D.  V.     In  deo  vivas. 
INL.     In  lustris. 
INN.     Innocens,  in  nomine. 
INO.     Ingenio. 
IN  P.,  or  I.  P.     In  pace. 
IN  PC.     In  pace. 
IN  X.     In  Christo. 
IN  XRI.  N.     In  Christo  nomine. 
I.  P.  D.     In  pace  Dei. 


ISPA.     Ispalcnsi. 

I.  X.     Jesus  Christus. 

K.     Kalendas,  earns,  carissimus. 

KAL.     Kalendas. 

K.  D.,  I.,  M.,  etc.      Calendas  decembres, 

januarius,  etc. 
KK.     Carissimus. 
KL.,  KLEND.     Kalendas. 
K.  M.  B.     Carissimo  bene  merenti. 
Kw.     KOifirjQ. 
KRM.     Carissimae,  carissimo. 

L.     Locus. 

L.  A.     Libenti  animo. 

L.  F.  C.     Locus  monumenti. 

LNA.     Luna. 

L.  S.     Locus  sepulchri. 

M.     Memoria,    martyr,    mensis,    merenti, 

minus,  etc. 
MA.,  MAR.,  MART.     Martyr,  martyrium, 

martias. 
MAT.     Mater. 
M.  B.     Memoriae  bonae. 
MERTB.     Merentibus. 
MES.     Menses. 
MM.     Martyres. 
MP.,  or  PP.     Monumentum,  or  memoriam, 

posuit. 
MRT.     Merenti,  merentibus. 
MS.     Menses. 

N.     Nonas,  numero,  novembris,   nomine, 

nostro. 
NAT.     Natalis,  natale. 
NBR.     Novembris. 
NME.     Nomine. 
NN.     Nostris. 
NO.,  or  NON.     Nonas. 
NOV.     Novembris. 
NST.     Nostri. 
NVM.     Numerus. 

0.     Horas,  optimus,  obitus,  obiit. 

OB.     Obiit. 

OB.  IN  XRO.     Obiit  in  Christ. 

OCT.     Octobris. 

0.  E.  B.  Q.     Ossa  ejus  bene  quiescant. 

0.  H.  S.  S.     Ossa  hie  sepultus  est. 

OM.,  or  OMIB.     Omnibus. 

OMS.     Omnes. 

OP.     Optimus. 

0.  P.  Q.     Ossa  placide  quiescant. 

P.     Pax,  pius,  ponendum,  posuerunt,  etc. 

PA.     Pace,  pater,  etc. 

PART.     Parentibus. 

PC.     Pace,  pone  curavit. 

P.  C,  or  P.  CONS.     Post  consulatum. 

P.  F.     Poni  fecit. 


586 


ABBREVIATIONS. 


P.  H.     Positus  hie. 

PL.     Plus. 

P.  M.     Plus  minus. 

POXT.     Pontifex. 

PONTFC.     Poiitifice. 

P.  P.     Pra^fectus  piietorio. 

PP  K.  L.     Prope  calendas. 

PR.,  PKB.,  PRBR.,  PREB.,  PSBR.,  PRSB. 

Presbyter. 
PR.  Q.     Posterisque. 
P.  V.     Prudentissiruus  vir. 
P.  Z.     Pie  zeses  (for  bibas,  vivas). 

Q.     Qui,  quo,  etc. 

Q.  B.  AN.     Qui  bixit  (vixit)  annos. 

Q.  FEC.  MEC.     Qui  fecit  mecum. 

Q.  FV.  AP.  N.     Qui  fuit  apud  nos. 

Q.  I.  P      Quiescat  in  pace. 

Q.  M.  0.     Qui  mortem  obiit. 

Q.  V.     Qui  vixit. 

R.     Recessit,  requiescit,  etc. 

RE.,  REQ.     Requescit,  repositus. 

REG.     Regis. 

REG.  SEC.     Regionis  secundae. 

RES.     Requescit. 

RIG.,  RIGS.     Regni,  regnis. 

R.  I.  P.  A.    Requiescas,  or  recessit,  in  pace 

animte. 
RQ.     Requevit. 

S.     Suus,  sua,  sibi,   salve,   somno,    sepul- 

chrum,  situs,  sepultus,  sub. 
SA.     Sanetissimus. 
SAC.     Sacer,  sacerdos. 
SAC.  VG.     Sacra  virgo,  or  sacrata. 
SBRS.     Septembres. 
SC.     Sanctus. 
SCA.     Sancta. 
SCE.     Sanctse. 

SCEMVNIALES.     Sanctimunialis. 
SCI.     Sancti. 
SCIS.     Sanctis. 
SCLI.     SiECuli. 
SCLO.     Sseculo. 
SC.  M.     Sanctaj  memorise. 
SCOR.,  SCORVM.     Sanctorum. 
SD.     Sedit. 
S.  D.  V.  ID.  IAN.      Sub  die  quinto  idus 

januarius. 
SEP.     September,  septimo. 


SEQ.  TIB.     Sequentibus. 

S.  H.  L.  R.     Sub  hoc  lapide  requiescit. 

S.  I.  D.     Spiritus  in  Deo. 

S.  L.  M.     Salvit  lubens  merito. 

S.  M.     Sanctae  memorise. 

S.  0.  V.     Sine  offensa  uUa. 

SP.     Sepultus,  sepulcrum,  spiritus. 

SP.  F.     Spectabilis  femina. 

SS.     Sanctorum,  suprascripta. 

ST.     Sunt. 

S.  T.  T.  C.     Sit  tibi  testis  coelum. 

SVPRASTO.     Suprascripto. 

T.  and  TT.     Titulum. 

TB.     Tibi. 

TIT.  P.,  or  PP.,  or  FF.    Titulum  posuit,  or 

posuerunt,  or  fecerunt. 
TM.     Testamentum. 
TPA.     Tempora. 
TTM.     Testamentum,  Titulum. 

V.  Vixit,  viscisti,  vivus,  viva,  vivas,  ven- 
emerenti  (for  benemereuti),  vatum, 
vovit,  vir,  uxor,  vidua. 

VAT.     Valeat. 

V.  B.     Vir  bonus. 

V.  C.     Vir  clarissimus. 

V.  F.     Vivas,  or  viva,  fecit. 

VG.,  or  VGO.     Virgo. 

V.  H.     Vir  honestus. 

V.  I.  AET.     Vive  in  asternum,  or  feterno. 

V.  I.  FEB.     Quinto  idus  februarii. 

V.  INL.     Vir  inlustris  (illustris). 

VIX.     Vixit. 

V.  K.     Uxor  carissime,  vivas  carissime. 

V.  0.     Vir  optimus. 

VOT.  VOT.     Votum  vovit. 

VR.  S.     Vir  sanctus. 

V.  S.     Vir  spectabilis. 

V.  T.     Vita  tibi. 

VV.  CC.     Viri  clarissimi. 

VV.  F.     Vive  felix. 

X.     Christus. 
XI.,  XR!.     Christo. 
XO.,  XTO.     Christo. 
XRC.,  XS.     Christus. 

Z.     ZESES  (for  vivas). 
ZESV  (for  Jesu). 


INSCRIPTIONS   RELATING   TO  INFANT    BAPTISM.  587 


Y. 

INSCRIPTIONS  RELATING  TO  INFANT  BAPTISM.    (P.  449.) 

Marangoni  {Act.  S.  Vict.,  103)  gives  the  following:  URCIA  FLORENTIA  FIDELIS 
IN  PACE  VIX.  AN  V.  MES.  VIII  DIES  VIII.  "  Urcia  Florentia  faithful  (baptized) 
in  peace.     She  lived  five  years,  eight  months,  and  eight  days." 

In  Cavedoni  (Cim.  di  Chiusi,  33)  we  find  the  interesting  epitaph  of  Aurelius  Meli- 
tus,  a  faithful  (baptized)  Christian  infant :  MELITVS  INFANS  CHRIST AE  AN VS 
FIDELIS. 

Gori  {Inscr.  Etmsc,  iii,  314)  gives  us  the  epitaph  of  a  child  three  years,  three  months, 
and  three  days  old,  of  whom  it  is  recorded :  HICTH  ETELETHCEN.  "  She  died 
faithful  " — that  is,  baptized. 

Gori  {TTies.,  i,  228)  also  gives  an  inscription  in  which  a  distinction  is  made  between 
the  "  Neophyte  "  and  the  "  Fidelis  :  "  HIC  REQVESCVNT  DVO  FRATRES  INNO- 
CENTES  CONSTANTIVS  NEOPHVTVS  QVI  VIXIT  ANNIS  OCTO  M.  II.  D.  VII. 
IVSTVS  FIDELIS  QVI  VIXIT  ANNIS  VII.  Of  these  brothers  one  had  not  been 
admitted  to  baptism,  being  yet  "  neophytus ; "  the  other,  though  younger,  had  been 
baptized,  and  is  therefore  described  as  "  fidelis." 

One  of  the  most  interesting  is  given  by  de  Rossi,  vol.  i,  p.  140,  No.  315,  Ins.  Ch. 
Urbis  Ronue.  It  is  dated  382.  The  subject  is  a  child  one  year  and  four  months  old : 
FIDELIS  QVIESCIS  IN  PACE  QVI  (v)IXIT  ANN.  M.  IIII  D(epositus)  VI  KAL  OCT. 
ANTONIO  ET  SVAGRIO. 

In  the  Lateran  Museum  we  find  the  following  Greek  inscription :  IIICTOC  EK 
niCTwN  ZwCIMOC  ENGAAE  KEIME  ZHCAC  ETECIN  B.  MH.  H.  HME  KE. 
"Faithful  of  the  faithful  (that  is,  a  baptized  child  of  baptized  parents),  I,  Zosimos, 
lie  here,  having  lived  two  years,  one  month,  and  twenty-five  days." 

This  monumental  evidence,  from  the  third  and  fourth  centuries,  establishes  the  fact 
that  it  was  the  custom  to  baptize  infants  at  this  period.     It  confirms  the  literary 
evidence  already  adduced. 
38 


688  LITERATURE   OF   CHRISTIAN   ARCHEOLOGY. 

VI. 

LITERATURE  OF  CHRISTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY/ 

ENCYCLOPEDIAS,  DICTIONARIES,  ETC. 

Ersch   u.   Gruber:    Allgemeine   Encyklopaedie    der  Wissenschaften   und    Kiinste. 

Leipzig,  1883. 
Grove:  Dictionary  of  Music  and  Musicians.     London,  1880-83.     3  vols. 
Hefele  :  Conciliengeschichte.     2te  Aufl.     Freiburg,  1873.     7  Bde. 
Herzog  u.  Plitt  :  Real-Encyklopadie  f  iir  protestantische  Theologie  u.  Kirche.     3te 

Aufl.     Leipzig,  1897. 
Julian,  John  :  A  Dictionary  of  Hymnology.     London,  1892. 
Kraus:     Real-Encyklopadie  der   christlichen  Alterthiimer.     Freiburg  im  Breisgau, 

1880-86. 
Lami:  Diciionnaire  des  Sculpteurs  de  I'Antiquite  au  VP  Silcle  de  notre  fire.     Paris, 

1884. 
Lichtenberger:  Encyclopedia  des  Sciences  religieuaes. 
Martigny:  Dictionnaire  des  Antiquites  chretiennes.     2e  ed.     Paris,  1877. 
Mansi:   Sacrorura  Conciliorum  nova  et  amplissima  collectio.      Florence,  1759-98. 

Editio  instaurata.     Paris,  1885,  seq. 
McClintock  and  Strong:  Cyclopaedia  of  Biblical,  Theological,  and  Ecclesiastical 

Literature.     New  York,  1869-81,  with  supplementary  volumes. 
Mendel:  Das  musicalische  Conversations — Lexikon.     Berlin,  1870-1883.     13  Bde. 
Smith  and  Cheetham  :  Dictionary  of  Christian  Antiquities,  American  reprint.     Hart- 
ford, 1880.     2  vols. 
Wetzer  u.  Welke:  Kirchen-Lexikon. 

SYSTEMATIC  TREATISES. 

AuGUSTi:  Denkwiirdigkeiten  aus  d.  christl.  Archaologie.  Leipzig,  1817-31.  12  Bde., 
8vo. 

Handbuch  der  christlichen  Archaologie.     Leipzig,  1836.     3  Bde.,  8vo. 

Bingham  :  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church.  Best  edition  by  his  grandson,  Pit- 
man.    London,  1840.     9  vols.,  8vo. 

BiNTERiM:  Yorziigliche  Denkwiirdigkeiten  der  christkath.  Kirche.     Mainz,  1825-41. 

BiJHMER:  Die  christlich-kirchliche  Alterthumswissenschaft.  Breslau,  1836.  2  Bde., 
8vo. 

De  Caumont:  Abeeedaire  d'Archeologie.     Caen,  1869-70.     3  vols.,  8vo. 

DiDRON:  Manuel  d'Iconographie  chretienne.     Paris,  1845. 

Delattre:  Archeologie  chretienne  de  Carthage.     Lyons,  1886. 

GuERicKE:  Lehrbuch  der  christlich-kirchlichen  Archaologie.  2te  Aufl.  Berlin, 
1859. 

Jahk  :  Ueber  das  Wesen  und  die  wichtigsten  Aufgaben  der  archaologischen  Studien. 

LUNDT,  J.  P.:  Monumental  Christianity.     London,  1889. 

Mallet:  Cours  elementaire  d'Archeologie  religieuse.     Paris,  1883. 

Martha,  Jules  :  Manuel  d'Archeologie  Etrusque  et  Romaine.     Paris,  1884. 

'  Of  the  immense  literature  the  works  here  given  have  been  found  to  be  among  the  most 
thorough  and  suggestive. 


LITERATURE   OF   CHRISTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY.  589 

MILLER:  Archaeologie  der  Kunst.     Berlin,  1854. 

Newton  :  Essays  on  Art  and  Archaeology.     London,  1885. 

Otte  :  Handbuch  der  kirchlichen  Kunst-archaologie  des  deutschen  Mittelalters.     5te 

Aufl.     Leipzig,  1884.     2  Bde. 
Perate  Andre:  L'archeologie  chretienne.     Quantin,  Paris,  1892. 
Piper  :  Mythologie  der  christlichen  Kunst  von  der  altesten  Zeit  bis  ins  sechzehnte 

Jahrhundert.     Weimar,  1847-51.     2  Bde.,  8vo. 

Einleitung  in  die  monumentale  Theologie.     Gotha,  1867. 

Eaoul-Rochette  :  Trois  Memoirs  sur  les  Antiquites  chretiennes.     Paris,  1869. 
Reusens:  Elements  d'Archeologie  chretienne.     2er  ed.     Louvain,  1885. 
Rheinwald  :  Die  kirchliche  Archaologie.     Berlin,  1830. 
Schultze:  Archaologische  Studien  iiber  alt-christliche  Monumente.     Wien,  1880. 

Die  Archaologie  der  alt-christlichen  Kunst.     Miinchen,  1895. 

Die  christliche  Archaologie,  in  Zockler's  Handbuch  der  theologischen   Wissen- 

schaften. 
Stark:  Handbuch  der  Archaeologie  der  Kunst.     Leipzig,  1880. 

EPIGRAPHY. 

Boeckh:  Corpus  Inscriptionum  Grgecarum.     3  vols.  fol.     Berolini,  1828-53. 
Creent  :  Illustrations  of  Incised  Slabs  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.     London,  1892. 
Cumont:  Christian  Inscriptions  of  Asia  Minor,  in  Melaiiges  d^ Archeologie  et  d'His- 

toire,  1896. 
Franz:  Elem.  Epigr.  Graec. 

Inscriptiones  Britannicee  Christianse.     Berlin  and  London,  1876. 

Hicks:  A  Manual  of  Greek  Historical  Inscriptions.     London,  1881. 
HtJBNER:  Inscriptiones  Hispanic  Christianae.     Berol ,  1871. 

Article  "  Inscriptions,"  in  Encyclopedia  Britannica.     9th  ed. 

Le  Blant:  Inscriptions  Chretiens  antiques  de  la  ville  d' Aries.     Paris,  1878. 

Manuel  d'Epigraphie  chretienne,  etc.     Paris,  1869. 

L'Epigraphie  chretienne  en  Gaule  et  dans  I'Afrique  Romaine.    Paris,  1890. 

McCall:  Christian  Epitaphs  of  the  First  Six  Centuries.     Toronto,  1869. 
MoMMSEN:  On  Latin  Inscriptions,  in  Contemporary  Review,  May,  1871. 

•  Corpus  Inscript.  Latinarum. 

De  Rossi:  Inscriptiones  Christianas  urbis  Romae.     I.  Romae,  1861;  II.  Part  1,  1888. 

Ramsay:  Cities  and  Bishoprics  of  Phrygia.     London,  1895. 

Reinach  :  Traite  d'Epigraphie  Grecque.     Paris,  1885. 

Reinesius  :  Syntagma  Inscriptionum. 

Ritter:  De  Compositione  titul.  Christ.     Berol.,  1877. 

Stevens:  The  Old  Runic  Monuments  of  Scandinavia  and  England.     London,  1865. 

Waddington:  Inscriptions  grecques  et  latines  de  la  Syrie.     Paris,  1870. 

Zell  :  Handbuch  der  romischen  Epigraphik. 

ON  THE  CATACOMBS. 

Bellermann:    Ueber  die  altesten   christlichen  Begrabnissstatten  u.  besonders   die 

Katakomben  zu  Neapel.     Hamburg,  1839. 
Bosio:  Roma  sotterranea.     Romse,  1632;  and  the  Latin  translation  of  this  work  by 

Aringhi.     Roma,  1691. 
Caruana:  Hypogenne  Tal-Liebru.     Malta,  1884. 
Garrucci  :  Vetri  ornati  di  figure  in  oro  trovati  nei  cemiteri  del  cristiani  primitivi  di 

Roma.     2d  ed      Roma,  1864. 


690  LITERATURE  OF  CHRISTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY. 

Heinrici  :  Zur  Deutung  der  Bildwerke   altcliristlicben  Grabstatten.      Studien  und 

KriUken,  1882. 
Kraus:  Roma  sotterranea.     2te  Aufl.     Freiburg,  1879. 
Lenormant:  Les  Catacombes.     Paris,  1858. 

NoRTHCOTE  and  Brownlow  :  Roma  sotterranea.    2d  ed.    London,  1879.    3  vols.,  8fo. 
Perret:  Les  Catacombes  de  Rome.     Paris,  1850,  etc.     6  vols.,  fol. 
Roller,  Th.  :  Les  Catacombes  de  Rome.     Paris,  1879-81.     2  vols.,  fol. 
De  Richemont:  Les  Catacombes  de  Rome.     Paris,  1870. 
De  Rossi:  Roma  sotterranea  cristiana.     Roma,  1864—79.     5  vols.,  fol. 
Schultze:  Katakomben  von  S.  Gennaro  del  Poveri  in  Neapel.     Jena,  1877. 
WiTHROW :    The    Catacombs   of    Rome,   and    their   testimony  relative   to   Primitive 

Christianity.     New  York,  1888. 

GENERAL  HISTORIES  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  FORM. 

Allard:  L'art  paien  sous  les  Empereurs  Chretiens.     Paris,  1879. 

Bayet:  L'Art  Byzantin. 

DAgincourt:  Histoire  de  Part  par  les  monuments.     6  vols.,  Paris,  1826. 

Canina  :  Via  Appia. 

CiAMPiNi:  Vetera  Monumenta  in  quibus,  etc.     2  vols.,  Romae,  1694. 

De  sacris  fediflciis  a  Constantino  Magno  constructis. 

EcKL:    Die   Madonna   als   Gegenstand    christlicher    Kunstmalerei    und    Sculptur. 

Brixen,  1883. 
FoRSTER:  Bildnerei  und  Malerei  von  Einfiihrung  des  Christenthums  bis  auf  die  neu- 

este  Zeit.     6  Bde.,  Leipzig,  1875. 

Mittel  u.  Unter-Italien.     2  Bde.,  Miincheu,  1866. 

Garrccci:  Storia  dell'  arte  cristiana.     6  vols.,  Prato,  1873-81. 
Hemans:  Ancient  Christianity  and  Sacred  Art.     Florence,  1866. 

Historic  and  Monumental  Rome.     London,  1874. 

KoNDAKOFF :  Histoire  de  I'Art  Byzantin  considere  principalment  dans  les  Miniatures. 

Trans,  from  the  Russian  by  Trawinski.     T.  i.     Paris,  1886. 
Kraus:  Geschichte  der  Christl.  Kunst.     2  vols.     Freiburg,  1896. 
Labarte:  Histoire  des  Arts  industriels.     2d  ed.     Paris,  1872. 
Lord  Lindsay:  History  of  Christian  Art.     2d  ed.     London,  1885. 
Luebke:  Ecclesiastical  Art  in  Germany   during  the  Middle  Ages;  trans,  from  5th 

German   edition,   with   Appendix,    by   L.    A.    Wheatley.     4th   English   edition. 

Edinburgh,  1877. 
LtJTZow  u.  LObke  :  Denkmaler  der  Kunst.     Stuttgart,  1879. 
Reber:  History  of  Mediawal  Art.     New  York,  1887. 

Schnaase:  Geschichte  der  bildenden  Kunste.     2te  Aufl.,  8  Bde.     Stuttgart,  1866-79. 
Sybel:  Weltgeschichte  der  Kunst  bis  zu  der  Sophienkirche.     1888. 
IJnger  :  Die  Byzantinische  Kunst,  in  Ersch  w.  Oruber''s  Encyklopcedie. 
WiNCKELMANN :  Gcschichte  der  Kunst  des  Alterthums.     2  vols.     1776. 

EARLY  CHRISTIAN  PAINTING. 

Crowe  and  Cavlacaselle  :  History  of  Painting  in  Italy.     London,  1864. 

Franz:    Geschichte  der  christlichen  Malerei.     Freiburg  im  Breisgau,  1897. 

HoTHo:  Geschichte  der  christlichen  Malerei.     Stuttgart,  1867. 

Lefort,  Louis  :   Etudes  sur  les  monuments  primitifs  de  la  peinture  chretienne  en 

Italic,  etc.     Paris,  1885. 
PoHL,  Otto  :  Die  altchrist.  Fresko  und  Mosaik,  Malerei  des  8  Jahrhundert.     Leipzig, 

1888. 


LITERATURE  OF  CHRISTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY.  591 

Rio  :  De  Fart  chretienne.     2d  ed.     4  vols.,  Paris,  1861-67. 

WiLPBRT  :  Ein  Cycliis  christologisches  Gemalde  aus  der  Katakombe  der  heiligen  Petrus 

und  Marcellinus.     Freiburg  im  Breisgau,  1891. 

Die  Katakomben  Gemalde  und  ihre  alte  Kopien.     Freiburg,  1891. 

WoLTMANN  and  WoERMANN:  Historv  of  Painting;  trans,  from  the  German  by  Colvin. 

2  vols..  New  York,  1880. 

MOSAICS. 
Agnellus:  Liber  Pontificalis. 

Appell:  Christian  Mosaic  Pictures.     London,  1878. 
Artand:  Histoire  abregee  de  la  peinture  en  mosaique.     Paris,  1885. 
Barbet  de  Jouy  :  Les  Mosaiques  chretiennes,  etc.     Paris,  1857. 
Barrier  de  Montault:    Les  mosaiques  chretiennes  de  Milan;  also  articles  in  the 

Revue  de  VArt  Chretien. 
DiDRON :  La  Peinture  en  Mosaique,  in  Gazette  des  Beaux  Artes,  vol.  xi. 
Duchesne  et  Bayet:   Memoire  sur  une  Mission  au  Mont  Athos,  etc.     Paris,  1876. 
FONTANA:  Musaici  della  priraitiva  epoca  delle  chiese  di  Roma.     Paris  1870,  1888. 
Frothingham:  The  Lost  Mosaics  of  the  East,  in  Am.  Jour,  of  Archceoloffi/,  vol.  iv, 

No.  2,  June,  1888. 
Une  Mosaique  constantienne  inconnue  a  Saint-Pierre  de  Rome,  in  Revue  Arch- 

eoloffique,  Jan. -Feb.,  1883. 
FuRiETTi:  De  Musivis. 

Garrucci  :  Storia  dell'  Arte,  etc.,  vol.  iv,  Tav.  cciv-ccxciv. 
G-erspach:  La  Mosaique. 
Heuser  and  Kraus:  Article  "Mosaik,"  in  Real-Encyklopudie  der  christUchen  Alter- 

tkiimer.     Bd.  ii,  ss.  419-30. 
Labarte:  Histoire  des  arts  industriels.     2er  ed.,  Paris,  1872.     v.  vol.  ii,  pp.  33.3-414. 
Liber  Pontificalis,  sive,  Auastasii  Bibliotecarii,  De  Vitis  Pontificum. 
MiJNTZ:   Notes  sur  les  Mosaiques  chretiennes  de  I'ltalie,  in  Revue  Archeologique 

1875-1878. 

The  Lost  Mosaics  of  Ravenna,  in  Ani.  Jour,  of  Archceology,  vol.  i,  pp.  115-30. 

The  Lost  Mosaics  of  Rome,  IVtli  to  IXth  Century,  in  Am.  Jour,  of  Archceology, 

vol.  ii,  pp.  295-313. 

Etudes  d'Iconographie  chretienne. 

Parker  :  Archseology  of  Rome :  Mosaics,  Photographs. 

Quast:  Die  alt-christlichen  Bauwerke  von  Raveuna.    Berlin,  1842.    FoL,  with  plates. 

Rahn:  Ravenna;    eine  kunstgeschichtliche  Stiidie.     Leipzig,  1869. 

Richter:  Die  Mosaiken  Ravennas.     Wien,  1878. 

De  Rossi  :  Musaici  Cristiani.     Rome. 

Salzenberg:  Die  altchristlichen  Denkmale  von  Constanliuopel  von  V.  bis  XII.  Jahr- 

hundert.     Berlin,  1854. 
Venables:  Article  "  Mosaics  "  in  Dictionary  of  Christian  Antiquities,  vol.  ii,  pp.  1322- 

1341. 
Vitet:  Etudes  sur  I'Histoire  de  I'Art.     Paris,  1864. 
Wyatt:  Art  of  Mosaic;  Geometrical  Mosaics  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

SCULPTURE. 
Chanot:  Les  Figures  criophores,  in  Gazette  Archeohgique,  1878. 
Fergusson:  Rude  Stone  Monuments  of  all  Ages.     London,  1872. 
GORi:  Thesaurus  veterum  diptychorum.     Florentise,  1772. 
Grousset:  ;^tude  sur  I'histoire  des  sarcophages  Chretiens.     Paris,  1885. 
Hahn:  Fiinf  Elfenbein-Gefasse  des  friihesten  Mittelalters.     Hanover,  1862. 


692  LITERATUKE  OF  CHRISTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY. 

Hasenclever:  Der  altchristliche  Graberschmuck.     Braunschweig,  1886. 

HiJBNER:  Die  antiken  Bildwerke  von  Madrid,     Berlin,  1862. 

King:  Antique  G^ms:  Their  Origin,  Uses,  and  "Value.     London,  1860. 

Lubke:  History  of  Sculpture;  trans,  from  the  German   by  F.  E.  Burnett.     2d  ed. 

London,  1878. 
Le  Blant:  ^tude  sur  lea  sarcophages  Chretiens  antiques  de  la  ville  d' Aries.     Paris, 

1878. 
Maskell:  Ivories,  ancient  and  medifeval.     London,  1872. 
Matz  und  Von  Duhn:  Bildwerke  in  Rom. 
Oldfield:  Select  E.xamples  of  Ivory  Carving,  from  second  ti  sixteenth  century. 

London,  1855. 
Pdlszky:  The  Fejevary  Ivories.     London,  1865. 
Veyries:  Les  Figures  criophores  dans  I'art  grec,  I'art  greco-romaiu  et  I'art  chretien. 

Paris,  1884. 

ARCHITECTURE. 

Armellini  :  Le  chiese  di  Roma  dalle  loro  origino  sino  al  Secolo  XVI.     Roma,  1887. 

Tipogr.  Editriee  Romana. 
Berthikr:  La   Porte   de  Ste.   Sabine  a  Rome.     Friburgi   Helvetiorum.     Typis  con- 

sociatonis  Sancti  Pauli.      1892. 
Berti  :  Suir  antico  duomo  di  Ravenna.     Ravenna,  1880. 
Brown  :  From  Schola  to  Cathedral ;  a  study  of  Early  Christian  Architecture  and  its 

relations  to  the  life  of  the  Church.     Edinburgh,  1886. 
Bunsen:  Die  Basiliken  des  christlichen  Roms.     Stuttgart  und  Tiibingen,  1842. 
Canina:  Ricerclie  sull'  arehitettura  piii  propria  dei  tempi  cristiani.     Roma,  1843. 
Cattaneo,  Raffaele  :  L'architettura  in  Italia  dal  Secolo  VI  al  mille  circa.    Richerche 

Storico  Critiuhe.      1892. 
Dehio  :  Die  Genesis  der  christlichen  Basilika.     Miinchen,  1883. 
Dehio  und  Bezold:  Die  kirchliche  Baukunst  des  Abendlandes.     Stuttgart,  1884-91. 
De  Fleury:  Le  Lateran.     Paris,  1879. 
Fergusson:  History  of  Architecture.     London,  1862-67. 

FossATi :  Aya  Sofia,  Constantinople,  as  recently  restored  by  order  of  H.  M.,  the  Sul- 
tan Abdul  Mejid.     London,  1852. 
Hirt:  Die  Geschichte  der  Baukunst  bei  den  Alten.     Berlin,  1822.     2  Bde. 
HtfBSCH:  Die  altchristliche  Kirchen.     Carlsruhe,  1862. 

Knight,  H.  Gally:  Ecclesiastical  Architecture  of  Italy.     London,  1842-44.     2  vols. 
Kredser:  Christlichen  Kirchenbau.     Berlin,  1851  and  1860. 

Wiederum  christlichen  Kirchenbau.     Berlin,  1868. 

Kugler:  Geschichte  der  Baukunst.     3  Bde.,  Stuttgart,  1856. 

Lange  :  Haus  und  Halle ;  Studien  zur  Geschichte  des  antiken  Wohnhauses  und  der 

Basilika.     Leipzig.  1885. 
LnEBKE:  Geschichte  der  Architectur.     6te  Auflage,  Stuttgart,  1884. 
Messmer  :  Ueber  den  Ursprung,  die  Entwickelung,  u.  Bedeutung  der  Basihka  in  der 

christlichen  Baukunst.      Leipzig,  1854. 

Ueber  den  Ursprung  der  christlichen  Basilika.     Leipzig,  1859. 

MooRE,    Charles    Herbert:    Development   and    Character   of   Gothic   Architecture. 

London  and  New  York,  1890. 
MoTHES :  Die  Baukunst  des  Mittelalters  in  Italien  von  der  ersten  Entwicklung  bis  zu 

ihrer  hochsten  Bliithe.     2  Bde.,  Jena,  1884. 
Die  Basilikenform  bei  den  Christen  der  ersten  Jahrhunderte.     Ihre  Vorbilden 

und  ihre  Entwickelung.     Leipzig,  1865. 


LITERATURE  OF  CHRISTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY.  593 

Norton:  Historical  Studies  of  Church  Building  in  the  Middle  Ages;  Venice,  Sienna, 

Florence.     New  York,  1880. 
Parker:  The  House  of  Pudens  in  Rome,  in  Archceologkal  Journal,  vol.  xxviii,  1871. 

The  Archaeology  of  Rome.     12  vols.,  Oxford  and  London,  1877. 

Platner,  Bunsen,  Gerhard,  u.  Rostell  :  Bescreibung  der  Stadt   Roms.     Stuttgart 

u.  Tiibingen,  1830-42. 
Qctast:  Die  alt-christlichen  Bauwerke  von  Ravenna.     Berlin,  1842. 
Rahn:  Ueber  den  Ursprung  und  die  Entwickelung  des  christl.  Central-u.  Kuppel- 

baues.     Leipzig,  1866. 
RiCHTER :  Christliche  Architectur  und  Plastik  in  Rom,  vor  Constantin  dem  Grossen. 

Jena,  1872. 
Rosengarten:  Handbook  of  Architectural  Styles.     London. 
SCHULTZE,  R.  W.,  and  Barnsley,  S.  H.  :  Byzantine  Architecture  in  Greece.    1895. 
Stockbauer  :   Der  christlichen  Kirchenbau  in  den  ersten  Jahrhunderten,     Regens- 

burg,  1874. 
Texier  et  Papplewell  PuLLAN :  L' Architecture  byzantine.     London,  1864. 

Eglises  byzantines.     Paris,  1869. 

De  Vogue:  Syrie  Centrale:  Architecture  civile  et  religieuse  du  premier  au  septieme 

Siecle.     2  vols.,  Paris,  1865-77. 

Les  Eglises  de  la  Terre  Sainte.     Paris,  1860. 

Le  Temple  de  Jerusalem. 

Valentini:  La  patriarcale  basilica  Laterana.     Roma,  1832. 

La  basilica  Liberiana.     Roma,  1839. 

La  basilica  Vaticana.     Roma,  1845. 

"Weingartner:    Ursprung   und  Entwickelung   des   christlichen   Kirchengebaudes. 

Leipzig,  1858. 
"Wiegemann:  Ueber  den  Ursprung  des  Spitzbogenstils.     Diisseldorf,  1842. 
Zestermann:  Die  antiken  u.  die  christlichen  Basiliken,  etc.     Leipzig,  1847.     4to. 

EARLY  CHRISTIAN  POETRY  AND  HYMNOLOGY. 

Bahr:  Geschichte  der  romischen  Literatur.     2te  Aufl.,  Leipzig,  1881.     4  Bde. 

Die  christl.   Dichter   und   Geschichtschreiber    Roms.      2te   Aufl.,    Karlsruhe, 

1872. 

Bernhardy:  Gruudriss  der  romischen  Literatur.     5te  Aufl.,  Leipzig,  1879. 

Burgess:  Select  Metrical  Hymns  and  Homilies  of  Ephraem  Syrus.  London,  1853. 
2  vols. 

Metrical  Hymns  of  Ephraem  Syrus. 

Clement:  Carmina  e  Poetis  Christianis  excerpta.     Parisiis,  1854. 

Christ  und  Paranikas:  Anthologie  Grseca  Carminum  Christianorum.    Lipsise,  1871. 

Daniel:  Thesaurus  Hymnologicus.     Lipsiie,  1841-56.     5  tom. 

Duffield:  The  Latin  Hymnwriters  and  their  Hymns.     New  York,  1885. 

Ebert:  Geschichte  der  christlichen  lateinischen  Literanir.     Bd.  i,  Leipzig,  1874. 

Allgemeine  Geschichte  der  Literatur  des  Mittelalters  im  Abendlande.     2te  Aufl. 

Leipzig,  1889. 

Grimm,  W.  :  Zur  Geschichte  des  Reims,  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Berlin  Academy  of  Sci- 
ences for  1851. 

Hahn  :  Ueber  den  Gesang  in  der  griechischen  Kirche. 

Jacobi  :  Zur  Geschichte  des  griechischen  Kirchenlieds,  in  Brieger's  Zeitaclirift  fiir 
Kirchengeschichte.     Vol.  v.     Goth  a,  1881. 

Koch:  Geschichte  des  Kirchenlieds  und  Kirchen-Gesangs  in  der  christlichen,  in  beson- 
dere  der  deutschen  evangelischen  Kirche.    Stuttgart,  3te  Aufl.,  ISBB-TB.    8  Bde. 


594  LITERATURE  OF  CHRISTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY. 

Konigsfeld:  Lateinische  Hymnea  u.  Gesange  aus  dem  Mittelalter.     Bonn,  184*7-65. 
KoRTUM :  Des  Silentarius  Paulus  Beschreibung  der  h.  Sophia  u.  des  Ambon.     Berlin, 

1854. 
Mayor,  J.  E.  B. :  The  Latin  Heptateuch  Critically  Reviewed.     Cambridge,  1889. 
MoNE:  Lateinische  Hymnen  des  Mittelaltera  aus  Handschriften  herausgegebeo  u. 

erklart      Freiburg,  1853-55.     3  Bde. 
Morris:    Select  Works   of  S.  Ephraem,  the  Syrian,  translated  out  of  the  original 

Syriac.     Oxford,  1847. 
Mttnter:  Ueber  die  alteste  christliche  Poesie.     Kopenhagen,  1806. 
Neale:  Hymns  of  the  Eastern  Church.     Last  edition.     London,  1876. 

Mediteval  Hymns  and  Sequences.     3d  ed.     London,  1867. 

The  Ecclesiastical  Poetry  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

Piper:  Der  Hymnus  des  Clemens  von  Alexandrlen,  in  the  Evangelischen  Kalendaa", 

1868. 
PiTRA,  Cardinal:  Hymnographie  de  I'eglise  grecque.     Rome,  1867. 

Analeeta  Sacra  Spicilegio  Solesraensi  parata.     T.  i.  Par.,  1876. 

Rambach:  Anthologie  christlicher  Gesange  aus  alien  Jahrhunderten  der  Kirche. 

Leipzig,  1817-33.     6  Bde. 
Schaff:  Christ  in  Song.     New  York  and  London,  1879. 
Tbupel:  Geschichte  der  romischen  Literatur.     4te  Aufl.,  Leipzig,  1882. 
Trench:  Sacred  Latin  Poetry,  chiefly  Lyrical.     3d  ed.     London,  1874. 
Thierfelder:  De   Christianorum  Psalmis  et  Hymnis  usque  ad  Ambrosii  tempora, 

1868. 
"Wackernagel:  Das  deutsche  Kirchenlied.     Leipzig,  1864-77.     5  Bde. 

EARLY  CHRISTIAN  MUSIC. 
Agdillar  and  de  Sola:    The  Ancient  Melodies  of  the  Liturgy  of  the  Spanish  and 

Portuguese  Jews. 
Ambrcs:    Geschichte  der  Musik.     2te  Aufl.     5  Bde. 
Brendel:  Geschichte  der  Musik. 
Burney:  General  History  of  Music  from  the  Earliest  Ages  to  the  Present  Period, 

4  vols.,  4to.    London,  1776-1789. 
Chappell:  History  of  Music.     London,  1874,  et  seq.    4  vols. 
Clement:    Historic  de  la   Musique  depuis  les  temps  anciens   jusq'au   nos  jours. 

Paris,  1855. 

Historic  generale  de  la  musique  religieuse. 

Coussemacher:    Histoire  de   I'harmonie  au  moyen  Age. 

L'art  harmonique  aux  XII^  et  XIII«  Siecles.     Paris,  1865. 

Delitzsch:  Physiologic  und  Musik  in  ihren  Bedeutung  fiir  die  Grammatik,  beson- 
ders  die  hebraische.     Leipzig,  1868. 

Engel:  Music  of  the  most  Ancient  Nations.     London,  1864. 

Forkel:    Allgeraeine  Geschichte  der  Musik.     2  vols.     Leipzig,  1788. 

Fetis:  Histoire  generale  de  la  Musique.     Paris.     4  vols. 

Hawkins  :  General  History  of  the  Science  and  Practice  of  Music.  London,  1853. 
2  vols.     4to. 

Helmoke:  "  Gregorian  Modes,"  in  Grovels  Musical  Dictionary. 

Kiesewetter:  Geschichte  der  Europasisch-abendlandischen  oder  unser  heutigen 
Musik.     Leipzig,  1846. 

Lambillotte  :  Antiphouaire  de  Sainte  Gregoire.  Facsimile  du  manuscript  de  Saint- 
Gall.     VIII«  Sieele.     Paris,  1851.     4to. 

Martini:  History  of  Music.  Also  "  Notation,"  in  Grove's  Dictionary  of  Music. 


LITERATURE  OF  CHRISTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY.  595 

Naumann:  History  of  Music.     Translated  by  F.  Praeger.     London,  1885. 

Reissmann:  "  Gregoriauischer  Gesaug,"  in  Mendel's  miisicalisches  Conversatmis- 
Lexicon. 

Allgemeine  Geschichte  der  Musik. 

RocKSTRO:    History  of  Music.     London,  1886. 

Schletterer:  Geschichte  der  geistliclien  Dichtungen  und  kirchlichen  Tonkunst. 
Hanover,  1869. 

Saalschutz:  Geschichte  und  Wiirdigung  der  Musik  in  iibersichtlicher  Darstellung. 
Leipzig,  1863. 

ScHUBiGER:  Sangerschule  St.  Gallons  vom  achten  bis  zwolften  Jahrhunderte. 

Thierfelder:  "  Ambrosianischer  Lobgesaug,"  in  MendeVs  miisicalisches  Conversa- 
tions-Lexicon.    Part  I,  pp.  199,  seq. 

Von  Dommer  :   Musik-Geschichte. 

Von  Winterfeld:  Der  evangelische  Kirchengesang. 

Westphal:  Geschichte  der  alten  und  mittelalterische  Musik. 

Griechische  Rhythmik  u.  Harmonik  u.  s.  w.     2te  Aufl.,  Leipzig,  1867. 

ON  THE  CONSTITUTION,  WORSHIP,  ETC.,  OF  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.' 

AuBE :    L'Eglise  et  I'Etat  dans  la  seconde  Moitie   du  III"  Siecle.     4  vols.,   Paris, 

1876-85. 
Bannerman:  The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  the  Church.     Edinburgh,  1887. 
— —  The  Church  of  Christ.     A  Treatise  on  the  Nature,   Power,   Ordinances,   Dis- 
cipline, and  Government  of  the  Christian  Church.     Edinburgh,  1868.     2  vols. 
Baur  :  Das  Christenthum  und  die  christliche  Kirche  der  drei  ersten  Jahrhunderte. 

Tiibingen,  2te  Aufl.,  1860. 

Ursprung  des  Episcopats.     Tubingen,  1838. 

BiCKELL:   Geschichte  des  Kirchenrechts.     Frankfort,  1849. 

Bruce  :  The  Training  of  the  Twelve.     8d  ed.     Edinburgh,  1883. 

Bkyschlag  :  Die  christhche  Gemeindeverfassung  im  Zeitalter  des  Neuen  Testaments. 

Harlem,  1876. 
Bruckner  :  Ueber  die   Zusammenhang   der  Liturgie  im  achten  Buche  der  ■'  Apos- 

tolischen  Constitutionen,"  in  Shcdlen  und  Kritikeii,  1883,  ss.  7-32. 
Coleman:  The  Apostolic  and  Primitive  Church,  etc.     Philadelphia,  1878. 
Cox:  The  Literature  of  the  Sabbath  Question.     Edinburgh,  1865. 
Cunningham:  The  Growth  of  the  Church.     London,  1886. 
Dale:  Manual  of  Congregational  Principles.     London,  1884. 
Daniel  :  Codex  liturgicus  ecclesise  uuiversse  in  epitomen  redactus.     4  vols.     Lipsiae, 

1847-51. 
Dexter  :    Congregationalism :    What  it   is ;    whence  it   is,  etc.      4th  ed.      Boston, 

1876. 
Dollinger:  The  First   Age  of  Christianity  and   the  Church;   trans,   by  Oxenham. 

London,  1866. 
Drey  :  Neue  Untersuchungen  iiber  die   Constitutionen   und  Kanones  der  Aposteln. 

Tiibingen,  1832. 
Edersheim  :  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah. 
Fisher:  The  Beginnings  of  Christianity.     New  York,  1887. 

1  The  literature  is  of  immense  volume  and  of  growing  importance.  The  recent  works 
are  characterized  by  great  tlioroughness  of  scholarship,  and  are  generally  written  in 
a  scientific  rather  than  polemic  spirit.  Besides  the  patristic  writings  of  the  first  si.\ 
centuries,  the  stimdard  <Jhurch  histories,  and  the  histories  of  Christian  doctrines,  the 
following  may  be  found  among  the  most  thorough  and  suggestive. 


596  LITERATURE  OF  CHRISTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY. 

Fkeeman  :  Principles  of  Divine  Service.     London,  1865-62. 

Gkikie:  Life  and  Words  of  Christ.     New  York,  1880.     2  vols. 

GiLFiLLAN :  The  Sabbath  Viewed  in  the  Light  of  Reason,  Revelation,  and  History. 

New  York,  1862. 
Haunack:   Lehrljuch  der  Dogmengeschichte.    Freiburg  and  Leipzig,  1890-94.    3  vols. 
Ueber  den  Ursprung  des  Lectorates  und  der  anderen  niederen  Weihen.     Gies- 

sen,  1886. 
Hatch:  Organization  of  the  Early  Christian  Churches.     London,  1892. 
Hausrath:    History  of  the  New  Testament  Times.     The  Times  of  Jesus.     Trans. 

from  the  German  by  Poyniing  and  Quenzer.     New  York,  1887. 
Heinrici:  Die  Kirchengemeinde  Korinths  und  die  religiisen  Genossenschaften    der 

Griechen.  in  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  whsenschaftUche  Theologie,  18*76. 
Hessey:  Sunday:  Its  Origin,  History,  and  Present  Obligation.      Hampton  Lectures. 

London,  1860. 
Heylin  :  History  of  the  Sabbath. 
Hilgenfeld:     Der   Paschastreit  der  alten   Kirche  nach  seiner  Bedeutung   fiir  die 

Kirchengeschichte.     Halle,  1860. 
Hofling:  Das  Sacrament  der  Taufe.     Erlangen,  1846. 
Die  Lehre  der  iiltesten  Kirche  vom  Opfer  im  Leben  und  Cultus  der  Christen. 

Erlangen,  1851. 
Hodge,  C.  :  Discussions  in  Church  Polity.     New  York,  IS'ZQ. 
Hort:   The  Christian  Ecclesia.     London,  189*7. 
Jacob  :  The  Ecclesiastical  Polity  of  the  New  Testament.     A  study  for  the  present 

crisis  in  the  Church  of  England.     5th  Am.  ed.     New  York,  1879. 
Kahnis:  Die  Lehre  vom  heiligen  Abendmahl.     Leipzig,  1851. 
Kayser:  Die  Canones  Jacob  von  Edessa.     Leipzig,  1887. 
Killen:    The   Ancient   Church:    its   History,  Doctrine,  Worship,  and  Constitution. 

New  York,  1883. 
Kostlin:  Gesehichte  des  christlichen  Gottesdienstes.     Freiburg,  1887. 
Lange:  Life  of  Christ.     Trans,  from  the  German.     Edinburgh,  1864. 
Lechler:    Das  apostolische  und  das  nachapostolische  Zeitalter  mit  Riicksicht   auf 

Unterschied  und  Einheit  im  Leben  und  Lehre.    3te  Aufl.    Karlsruhe  und  Leipzig, 

1885. 
IjEyerlen  :  Die   Enstehung  des   Episcopats  in  der  christlichen  Kirche,  in  the  Zeit. 

schrift  fur  praktische  Theologie,  1887,  Heft  ii,  ss.  97-143;  Heft  iii,  ss.  201-244; 

Heft  iv,  ss.  297-333.     Against  Hatch  and  Harnack. 
Lightfoot:  The  Apostolic  Fathers.     London,  1885. 
The  Name  and  Office  of  an  Apostle,  in  comm.  on  Galatians.     7th  ed.     London, 

1881. 

The  Christian  Ministry,  in  comm.  on  Philippians.     8th  ed.     London,  1885. 

LiPSius:  Ueber  Ursprung  und  Gebrauch  des  Christennamens.     Jena,  1873. 

Mone:    Lateinische  und  griechische  Messen  aus   dem    2ten  bis  6ten   Jahrhundert. 

Frankfort,  1859. 
MuRATORi,  L.  A. :  Liturgia  Romana  vetus.     Venet.,  1748. 
Neale  :  The  Liturgies  of  S.  Mark,  S.  James,  S.  Clement,  S.  Chrysostom,  S.  Basil,  or, 

according  to  the  uses  of  the  Churches  of  Alexandria,  Jerusalem,  Constantinople. 

London,  1859. 
Neander  :  The  Planting  and  Training  of  the  Christian  Church.     Trans,  by  Ryland. 

New  York,  1844. 
Palmer:  Origines  Liturgicae.    2  vols.    London,  1845. 
PoRTEOus:  The  Government  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  etc.     Edinburgh,  1872. 


LITERATURE  OF  CHRISTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY.  597 

Powers:  Irenaeus  and  Infant  Baptism,  in  the  Am.  Presby.  and  Theol.  Review,  1857. 
Probst:     Kirchliche    Disciplin    in    den    drei    ersten    christlichen    Jahrhunderten. 

Tiibingen,  1873. 
Rknan:  Rome  and  Christianity.     Hibbert  Lectures.     Boston,  1880. 

Mare  Aurele  et  la  fin  du  mond  antique.     Paris,  1882. 

Les  Apotres. 

RiGG :  The  Sabbath  and  the  Sabbath  Law  before  and  after  Christ.     London,  1869. 
RiTSCHL :  Die  Enstehung  der  altkatholischen  Kirche.     2te  Aufl.     Bonn,  1857. 
RiTSCHL,  Otto:  Cyprian  von  Carthago,  etc.     Gottingen,  1885. 
Rothe:    Die  Aufange  der  christlichen  Kirche  und  ihrer  Verfassung.     Wittenberg, 

1837. 
Ryckert  :    Das  Abendmahl,  sein  Wesen  und  seine  Geschichte  in  der  alten  Kirche. 

Leipzig,  1856. 
Scherer:  Handbuch  des  Kirchenrechts.     Gratz,  1886. 
SchUrer:    Die  Paschastreitigkeiten  des  2ten  Jahrhunderts,  in  Zeitschrift  fur  hist. 

Theologie,  1870. 
Seufert  :  Der  Ursprung  und  die  Bedeutung  des  Apostolates  in  der  christlichen  Kirche 

der  ersten  zwei  Jahrhunderte.     Leiden,  1887. 
Stanley:  Christian  Institutions.      New  York,  1881. 

Steitz:  Der  Pasehastreit,  etc.,  in  Studien  und  Kritiken,  1856,  1857,  1859. 
SwAiNSOK  :  The  Greek  Liturgies.     London,  1884. 

Thatcher,  0.  T. :  The  Apostolic  Church.     Boston  and  New  York,  ISO:; 
Thiersch:  Die  Kirche  im  apostolischen  Zeitalter.     3te  Aufl.  Augsburg,  1879. 
Vitringa:  de  Synagoga  vetere  libri  tres.     Weissenfels,  1726. 
Wall:  History  of  Infant  Baptism.     Oxford,  1872.     2  vols. 
Warren:  The  Liturgy  and  Ritual  of  the  Celtic  Church.     Oxford,  1881. 
Weizsacker:  Das  apostolische  Zeitalter  der  christlichen  Kirche.     Freiburg,  1886. 
Wieseler:    Die  Christenverfolgungen    der   Caesaren   bis  zum  dritten  Jahrhundert. 

Leipzig,  1875. 

Geschichte  des  Sonntags  in  der  alten  Kirche.     Hanover,  1878. 

Wordsworth:  Outlines  of  the  Christian  Ministry.     London,  1872. 

Wordsworth  :  History  of  the  Christian  Church.     Vol.  i. 

Zahn  :  Ignatius  von  Antiochen.     Gotha,  1873. 

— — Ignatii  et  Polycarpi  Epistolae  Martyria  Fragmenta.     Lipsiae,  1876. 

Zockler:  Apostelgeschichte.     Nordlingen,  1886. 

Das  Kreutz  Christi.     Gutersloh,  1875. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Ackermann  :    The  Christian  Element  in  Plato  and  the  Platonic  Philosophy.     Trans. 

from  the  German.     Edinburgh,  1861. 
Allard:  Les  Esclaves  Chretiens  depuis  les  premiers  temps  de  I'^glise  jusq'au  la  fin  de 

la  domination  romaine  en  Occident.     Paris,  1876. 
Allen:  Early  Christian  Symbolism  in  Great  Britain.     1893. 
Alt  :  Die  heiligen  Bilder,  oder  die  bildende  Kunst  und  die  theologische  Wissenschaft 

in  ihrem  gegenseitigen  Verhaltniss,  historisch  dargestellt.     Berlin,  1845. 
BIhr:  Symbolik  des  mosaischen  Cultus.     Heidelberg,  1837. 
Becker:  Das  Spott-Crucifix  der  romischen  Kaiserpalaste.     Breslau,  1866. 

Die  Darstellung  Jesu  Christi  unter  dem  Bilde  des  Fisches.     Breslau,  1866. 

Die  heidnische  Weihformel  D.  M.  Breslau,  1869. 

Beurath:    Zur  Geschichte  der  Marienverehrung,  in   Studien  und  Kritiken,    1886. 

Heft  i,  ss.  7-94;  Heft  ii,  ss.  197-267. 


598  LITERATURE  OF  CHRISTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY. 

BorRGON:  Letters  from  Rome.     London,  1862. 

Burckhardt:  Cicerone.     5te  Aufl.,  1884.     2  Bde. 

Burnell:  Elements  of  South  Indian  Palaeography  from  the  4th  to  the  17th  Century, 

A.  D.     2d  ed.    London,  1878. 
Butler:  The  Ancient  Coptic  Churches  of  Egypt.     Oxford,  1884.     2  vols. 
Chastel  :  Destruction  du  Paganisme  dans  I'Empire  d'Orient. 
Cocker:    Christianity  and  the  Greek  Philosophy.     New  York,  1870. 
Cohen  :  Description  historique  des  Monnaies  frappees  sous  I'empire  romain,  commun- 

nement  appelees  medailles  imperiales.     2er  ed.     T.  iv,  Paris,  1884. 
Conder  :  Survey  of  Western  Palestine.     Special  Papers.     London,  1881. 

Christian  and  Jewish  Traditions. 

Creuzer  :  Symbolik  u.  Mythologie. 

Crooks  and  Hurst:  Theological  Encyclopaedia  and  Methodology.     New  York,  1884. 

CuRTius,  HiRSCHFELD,  ctc. :  AusgrabungCM  zu  Olympia. 

CoNYBEARE  and  HowsoN :  Life  and  Epistles  of  St  Paul.     6th  ed.     New  York,  1868. 

De  Waal:  Der  Fisch  auf  den  christlichen  monumenta  von  Salona.     Jadera,  1894. 

DiETRiCK :  Das  philosophische  System  Platons  in  seiner  Beziehung  zum  christlichen 

Dogma.     Freiburg,  1862. 
DoLLiNGER :  The  Gentile  and  the  Jew  in  the  Courts  of  the  Temple  of  Christ.     Trans. 

from  the  German  by  Darnell.     London,  1862. 

Hippolytus  und  Callistus. 

DoRNER :  History  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Person  of  Christ.     5  vols. 

DuRANDUs,  WiLLiA.M :  The  Symbolism  of  Churches  and  Church  Ornaments.     London, 

1894. 
Dursch:  Der  symbolische  Character  der  christlichen  Religion  und  Kunst.     Schaifhau- 

sen,  1860. 
Erhard:  Das  Erziehungswesen  der  christlichen  Zeit.  in  Dej-  Schulfreund,  lite  Jahr- 

gang,  Trier,  1855. 
Ewald:   The  History  of  Israel.     Trans,  from  the  German.     London,  1874. 
Farrar  :  Life  of  St.  Paul.     London,  1882. 
Forbes,  Leslie  :  The  Early  Races  of  Scotland  and   their   Monuments.     Edinburgh, 

1876.     2  vols. 
FoRSTER,  Th.  :  Ambrosius,  Bischof  von  Mailand.     Fine  Darstellung  seines  Lebens  und 

Wirkens.     Halle,  1884. 
Freeman  :  The  Historical  Geography  of  Europe.     2d  ed.     London,  1882. 
Friedlander:  Darstellungen  aus  der  Sittengeschichte  Roms.     Leipzig,  1881.     3  Bde. 
Gibbon:  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.     New  York,  1880.     6  vols. 
Gregorovius  :  Geschichte  der  Stadt  Roras  im  Mittelalter. 
Grosvenor:  Constantinople.     Boston,  1895.     2  vols. 
Ideler:  Handbuch  der  math,  und  tech.  Chronologic.     Breslau,  1825. 
Jacob:  Die  Kunst  im  Dienste  der  Kirche.     2te  Aufl.    Landshut,  1870. 
King:  The  Gnostics  and  their  Remains,  Ancient  and  Modern.     London,  1864.     New 

edition.  New  York,  1887. 
Kraus:  Die  christliche  Kunst  in  ihrer  friihesten  Anfangen.     Leipzig,  1873 

Synchronistische  Tabellen  zur  christlichen  Kunstgeschichte.     Freiburg  1880. 

Kdenen:  Hibbert  Lectures,  1882. 

Lanciani,  R.  :  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome.     1890. 

Rome  in  the  Light  of  Recent  Discoveries. 

Lea  :  Studies  in  Church  History.     Boston,  1 883. 

History  of  Sacerdotal  Celibacy.     2d  ed.     Boston,  1884. 

Lecky:  History  of  European  Morals,  etc.     London,  1884.     2  vols. 


LITERATURE  OF  CHRISTIAN  ARCHEOLOGY.  599 

Lehner:  Die  Marienverehrung  in  den  ersten  Jahrhunderten.     Stuttgart,  1881. 

Lochler:  Sclaverei  und  Christenthum.     Leipzig,  1877-78. 

Mariott  :  Tiie  Testimony  of  the  Catacombs  and  of  otlier  Monuments  of  Christian  Art 
from  the  Second  to  the  Eighteenth  Century.     London,  1870. 

Vestiarium  Christianum. 

Merivale:  Conversion  of  the  Roman  Empire.     London,  1864. 

Milman:  History  of  Latin  Christianity.  New  Yorli,  1881.     8  vols,  in  4. 

MoMMSEN :  History  of  Rome.     Nevr  York,  1870.     4  vols. 

Overbeck:  Verhaltniss  der  alten  Kirche  zur  Sclaverei  im  romischen  Reiche.  Ber- 
lin, 1875. 

Palmer,  W.  :  An  Introduction  to  Early  Christian  Symbolism.  London,  1884. 

Ratzinger:  Geschichte  der  kirchlichen  Armenpflege.     2te  Aufl.     Freiburg,  1884. 

V.  Raumer:  Geschichte  der  Padagogik.     Stuttgart,  1843. 

Reidelbach:  Ueber  den  Zusammenhang  der  christlichen  Kunst  mit  der  antiken. 
Miinchen,  1881. 

Reuss  :  History  of  the  New  Testament.  2d  ed.  Trans,  from  the  German  by  Hough- 
ton.    1884. 

Rohault  DE  Fleury  :  La  Sainte  Vierge.     2  vols.     Paris,  1878. 

Schmid:  Geschichte  der  Erziehung  vom  Anfang  bis  auf  unsere  Zeit.  Stuttgart, 
1884,  seq. 

Schmidt  :  Geschichte  der  Padagogik.     3te  Aufl.     Cothen,  1874.     2  Bde. 

Schlumberger  :  Sigillographie  de  I'Empire  byzantine.     Paris,  1885. 

Schurer:    Der  Gemeindeverfassung  der  Juden  in  Rom.     Leipzig,  1879. 

The   Jewish  People  in  the  Time  of  Jesus  Christ.     Edinburgh,  1885. 

Stanley:  History  of  the  Eastern  Church.     New  York,  1863. 

Strzygovtski  :  Ikonographie  der  Taufe  Christi.     Miinchen,  1885. 

TvriNiNG,  Louisa  :  Symbols  and  Emblems  of  Early  and  Medieeval  Christian  Art.  Lon- 
don, 1852. 

Tyrwhitt:  Christian  Art  Symbolism.     London,  1881. 

The  Art  Teaching  of  the  Primitive  Church.     London,  1886. 

Uhlhorn  :  Conflict  of  Christianity  with  Heathenism.  Trans,  from  3d  German  ed.  by 
Smith  and  Ropes.     Revised  Am.  Ed.,  New  York.     1879. 

Christian  Charity  in  the  Ancient  Church.     Trans,  from  the  German,  New  York, 

188.3. 

Wallon  :  Histoire  de  I'esclavage.     2er  ed.     Paris,  1879. 

Wilpert:  Fractio  Panis.     Freiburg,  1893. 

Principien  Fragen  der  christlichen  Archaologie.     Freiburg,  1 894, 

Wood  :  Discoveries  at  Ephesus.     Boston,  185Y.     New  ed.,  1887. 

Zahn:  Sclaverei  und  Christenthum  in  der  alten  Welt.     Heidelberg,  1879. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


[In  this  Index  f  shows  that  the  subject  is  continued  on  the  next  page ;  ff,  that  the  subject 
is  continued  on  the  following  pages;  n,  that  the  matter  is  contained  in  a  note.] 


Abercius,  inscription  of,  304  f. 

Abortion,  frequency  of  among  pagans,  509; 
not  condemned  by  Komans,  510;  how 
viewed  by  the  Church,  511. 

Abraxas  gems,  as  evidence,  21;  nature  of,  31. 

Absolution,  stages  of,  421. 

Acolyths,  duties  of,  412. 

Actors  and  the  drama,  526. 

Agnellus,  biographies  by,  224  f. 

Albert!,  on  Christian  basilica,  173. 

Alexandria,  important  eucharistic  fresco  at, 
82;  schools  of,  551  f ;  theologians  of,  552  f. 

Altar,  names  and  forms  of,  472 ;  position  of, 
473;  accompaniments  of,  474  f. 

Ambo,  situation  of,  184;  uses  of,  184. 

Ambrose,  on  the  phenix,  71;  contributions 
to  hymnology,  325;  musical  reforms  of, 
338;  musical  modes  of,  343;  on  trine  bap- 
tism, 459  f ;  quoted,  466. 

Amor  and  Psyche,  significance  of,  in  Chris- 
tian art,  68  f. 

Ampullae,  controversy  respecting,  168;  opin- 
ions on  the  contents  of,  168. 

Amusements,  interdicted,  480. 

Anaphora,  486. 

Anatolius,  hymns  of,  316. 

Angels,  guardian  in  art,  69. 

Antiphonarium,  Gregorian,  350. 

Apostles,  in  Jewish  Church,  364;  significance 
of  the  Twelve,  365;  first  test  of,  366;  har- 
mony of  teaching  of,  392. 

Apostolate,  361  f. 

Apostolic  Constitutions,  on  baptism,  460  f ;  on 
episcopacy,  399  f;  on  Church  government, 
400. 

Apostohc  succession,  according  to  the  Clem- 
entines, 384;  according  to  Irenaeus,  393. 

Apse,  termination  of  law  basilica,  193 ;  sig- 
nificance of,  in  Christian  basilica,  197; 
Christian,  and  pagan  governed  by  differ- 
ent principles,  197  f ;  origin  of,  198 ;  furni- 
ture of,  200. 

Aquileia,  inscriptions  in,  301. 

Archaeologists,  schools  of,  74  f. 

Archaeology,  definition  of,  13;  divisions  of, 
13  f ;  history  of,  15;  relations  of  Christian 
to  classical,  16 ;  Umits  of,  17 ;  utility  of,  19  ff. 

Archdeacon,  appointment  and  functions  of, 
406 ;  importance  of,  406. 

Architecture,  see  Basilica;  transformations 
gradual,  215;  germs  of  Gothic,  207;  dome 
style  of,  235;  Byzantine,  2.50  f. 

Area,  definition  of.  186 ;  sacredness  of,  186, 
513;  carefully  bounded,  188. 

Arians,  churclies  of,  226;  hymns  of,  in 
fourth  century,  326;  practise  trine  bap- 
tism. 460. 

Aristides,  Apology  of,  22  n,  518  n. 

Ark,  symbol  of,  285. 

Armitage,  441  n. 


Art,  influences  affecting,  51 ;  helpful  to  faith, 
51;  presence  of  formative  art  in  public 
services  opposed  by  early  Christian  fa- 
thers, 52;  how  far  and  why  opposed,  53, 
139;  relations  of  religion  to,  55;  subjects  of 
uniform,  114;  ecclesiastical  control  of,  110; 
last  judgment  in,  161;  activity  in  West, 
221. 

Asceticism,  pertains  to  all  reUgions,  513; 
heathen  examples  of,  513;  encourage- 
ments to,  514. 

Ass,  a  caricature  of  Christ,  95  f. 

Atria,  five  classes  of,  183  f. 

Augusti,  308  n.  310.  314,  318  n. 

Augustine,  hymns  of,  330 ;  on  public  worship, 
483. 

A.  il-  monuments,  chronology  and  signifi- 
cance of,  88;  connected  with  other  sym- 
bols, 89. 

Bahr,  317  n,  318,  319,  320,  322  n,  327. 

Balancing,  principle  of,  in  early  frescos, 
98  f ;  in  sarcophagi,  144,  148. 

Baptism,  formula  of,  428;  Christ's  peculiai", 
428 ;  meaning  of,  428 ;  nature  of,  428 ;  regen- 
erative power  of,  433;  subjects  of,  447;  in- 
fant, 447  ff ;  ministrants  of,  450  f;  mode  of, 
451  ff ;  when  administered,  454  ff :  testimony 
of  "  Teaching  "  respecting,  431  f ;  pictoria"! 
representations  of,  438  ff;  by  aspersion, 
404  ff;  mosaics  containing,  444  f;  uniform- 
ity of  art  testimony  concerning,  453  f; 
hberty  respecting,  454;  clinic,  why  not  en- 
couraged, 452  f;  reasons  of  delay  of,  452; 
time  of,  454;  place  of,  454  ff ;  preliminaries 
to,  459  f;  sponsors  in,  459;  ceremonies  of, 
459  ff;  trine,  4.59;  reasons  of  trine,  459; 
why  trine  was  discontinued,  459;  unction 
following,  460;  sign  of  the  cross  after.  461. 

Baptisteries,  arrangement  of,  456;  size  of, 
456. 

Bardesanes,  hymns  of,  312. 

Baronlus,  15. 

Basil,  on  trine  baptism,  459;  on  canonical 
singers,  338;  on  education,  507  f. 

Basilica,  origin  of  Christian,  173;  theories 
discussed,  173  ff;  Zestermann's  four  class- 
es, 174;  Alberti's  theory  of,  173;  Wein- 
gartner's  theory,  174  f ;  Messmer's  theory, 
177;  Dehio's  theory,  178;  Lange's  theory, 
178;  eclectic  view.  178  ff;  description  of 
law  basilicas,  191 ;  derivation  of,  191 ;  uses 
of,  194;  Christian  basilica  a  gi-owth,  194; 
earliest  notices  of,  196;  resemblances  to 
pagan  basilica,  197,  204;  differences  from, 
201,204;  parts  of,  202;  transformation  of, 
204;  balancing  of  parts  of,  204,205;  later 
development  of,  205;  influence  on  other 
forms  of  architecture,  206;  how  far  orig- 
inal, 209 ;  few  remains  of,  209 ;  post-Con- 


602 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


stantine  examples  of,  220  ff;  iu  Syria 
exceptional,  231;  ceilings  of,  231. 

Becker,  453  n. 

li('ci<cr,  opinion  of  respecting  heathen  car- 
icatiirfs,  1)4;  on  Diis  Manibiis,  275. 

Bcrnlianly.  31<»,  .TJO. 

Bcveridgf.  312  n. 

Biiifiliain,  on  canonical  singers,  337;  on  the 
luilitiii.  40!)  n ;  on  absolution,  421. 

Bislio]),  Ignatins  on,  382  f;  identical  with 
presbyters,  ;;7ti  ff;  congregational,  383; 
tlie  unifying  power  of,  386;  the  arbiter  of 
doctrine,  3»5;  mode  of  election  of,  389; 
relation  of  to  each  other,  390 ;  of  Rome,  390 ; 
increased  power  of,  390;  catalogues  of, 
393;  depositaries  of  apostolic  teaching, 
394 ;  become  general  officers,  396. 

Bohmer,  308  n. 

Ba'thius,  344. 

Bueher,  quoted,  144  n. 

Bull;e,  476  f. 

Bunsen,  quoted,  28  n. 

Burgess,  (|uote(l.  306  n,  312  n,  313. 

Burial,  Jewisli  customs  of,  556  f;  lack  of ,  a 
punishment,  556;  duty  of,  among  the 
Greeks,  557  f;   preparation  of  body  for, 

557  f ;  Koman  custom  of,  558 ;  legal  pro- 
visions among  the  Romans,  559;  revival  of, 
at  Rome,  "itKi;  Christian  customs  of,  560  f; 
shared  in  the  eonunon  feehng,  561 ;  doctrine 
of  resurrection  affecting,  561;  the  family 
idea  preserved  in,  562;  Christian,  pro- 
tected by  law,  562;  no  secrecy  neces- 
sary in,  562;  clubs  for,  562;  in  catacombs, 
563. 

Burial  brotherhoods.  Influence  of,  on  burial, 
31,  562. 

Burnell,  on  lateness  of  South  Indian  in- 
scriptions, 85  n ;  on  lack  of  originality  in 
the  Indian  Trinity,  85  n. 

Burning  of  the  dead,  seldom  practised  by 
the  Jews,  556;  custom  among  the  Greeks 
varying,  557  f;  also  among  the  Romans, 

558  f ;  not  practised  by  Chi'istians,  562. 
Business,  see  Trades. 

Butler  on  baptism  in  Coptic  Church,  449  n. 

Byzantine  architecture,  principle  of,  250; 
periods  of,  250;  perfection  of,  in  St.  So- 
phia, 250  f. 

Byzantine  art,  early  origin  of,  34  n. 

Byzantine  churches,  in  Constantinople,  40. 

Byzantine  Empire,  degeneracy  of,  221 ;  ab- 
solutism of,  249;  good  offices  of,  249. 

Caelius  Sedulius,  330. 

Calistus,  his  care  for  the  cemeteries,  32. 

Canon  Paschalis,  sculptured,  143. 

Capella,  344. 

Capitoline  Fragments,  182. 

Caricatures  of  Christ,  94  f ;  Tertullian's  tes- 
timony to,  94. 

Carriere,  on  symbolism  quoted,  73  n. 

Carvings,  in  ivory,  162;  of  book-covers,  165; 
on  pixes,  107. 

Cassiodorus,  344. 

Cataeoniljs,  less  used  in  fourth  century,  35; 
of  Syracuse,  35;  of  Malta,  36;  description 
of,  56, 562  ff ;  origin  of  Roman,  562 ;  entrance 
to,  not  concealed,  562;  construction  of,  563 
ff ;  number  of,  564 ;  numbers  buried  in,  564 ; 
not  used  for  pubhc  worship,  565 ;  hghting 
of.  ,566. 

Catholic  Church,  when  the  term  first  used, 
395  f;  meaning  of,  396. 

Celibacy,  early  inculcated,  513  f;  evils  of 
among  the  Romans,  509;  difficulties  of  en- 
forcing, 514. 

Celln',  uses  of,  185;  influence  on  Christian 
architecture,  186 ;  examples  of,  188 ;  growth 
into  churches,  224. 

Cemeteries,    separate,    desired   by   Jews, 


556  f;  removed  from  cities,  557 ;  Christian, 
peculiar,  519 ;  Jewish,  at  Rome,  511. 

Central  style,  see  Domed  style. 

Chalice,  richness  of,  474;  protests  against 
richness  of,  475. 

Chamber  of  the  Sacraments,  important 
fresco  of,  81. 

Chant,  original  style  of  music  in  early 
Church,  335. 

Charisms,  362,  379;  result  of  office,  389. 

Charities,  under  Roman  government,  488; 
numbers  relieved,  488;  Stoics  favorable 
to,  488;  defects  of  pagan,  489,  490  f;  of 
guilds  and  clubs,  489;  selfishness  in,  489; 
influence  of  coUegia  upon  Christian,  490; 
idea  of  early  Christian,  492;  true  inspira- 
tion of,  in  early  Church,  491;  in  the  early 
oblations,  491  f ;  influence  of  financial  con- 
dition of  the  imperial  period  on,  492  f;  in- 
fluences adverse  to,  493;  scope  of,  493  f; 
organized,  494  f ;  influence  on  pauperism, 
495  f;  opportunities  for,  496  f;  principles 
adverse  to,  497  f ;  relation  of  Montanism 
to,  498 ;  doctrine  of  good  works  connected 
with,  498;  influence  of  union  of  Church 
and  State  on,  498  f ;  decay  of,  499 ;  influence 
of  hospitals  on,  499. 

Charles,  Mrs.,  329  n,  330  n. 

Charnay,  on  cross  in  Central  America.  83  n. 

Children,  absolute  property  of,  among  Ro- 
mans, 463;  care  for  by  Christians,  465; 
exposure  of,  465. 

Choirs,  female,  organized  by  Ephraim  of 
Edessa,  312 ;  by  Basil  and  Chrysostom,  338. 

Chorepiscopi,  when  instituted,  409;  func- 
tions of,  409. 

Christ,  no  portrait  of,  78, 139;  traditions  con- 
cerning art  representations  of,  76  n ;  two 
general  types  of,  in  early  art,  100;  the 
earlier  from  Greek,  the  later  from  Hebrew 
influence,  100  ft';  tendency  to  decoration  iu 
later  frescos  of,  105 ;  reasons  of  change  in 
type  of,  106;  crucifixion  of,  in  art,  118; 
statues  of,  symbolic,  140;  type  of,  in 
sculpture,  144;  nativity  seldom  found  in 
early  art,  154;  cross-bearing  of,  158;  crown- 
ing with  thorns,  158 ;  crucifixion  of,  in  art, 
164 ;  divinity  of,  297 ;  date  of  birth  unknown, 
502  f. 

Christian  art,  causes  of  encouragement  of, 
52;  early  forms  of,  54;  originality  of,  54; 
symbolism  in,  55;  appropriated  what  was 
at  hand  but  modified  it,  55  f,  521 ;  decora- 
tive in  character,  57 ;  natm-alness  of  early, 
58 ;  pagan  elements  in,  59 ;  mythologic  ele- 
ments in,  60  ff;  contaminated  by  heathen 
influences,  65. 

Christian  fathers,  their  art  teachings  com- 
pared with  those  of  the  reformers,  64  n. 

Christianity,  rapid  spread  of,  25;  a  message 
to  the  poor, '25;  cause  of  propagation  of, 
27;  not  hostile  to  art,  42;  contaminated  by 
heathen  influences,  65;  compared  to  Ju- 
daism respecting  the  priesthood,  79  n. 

Christians,  number  of,  26,  51 ;  high  position 
of  some,  26,  177,  181,  286,  516  f ;  judged  a 
sect  of  the  Jews,  183;  their  places  of  wor- 
ship, 183;  burial  of,  561  ff. 

Christmas,  origin  of,  502;  conclusions  con- 
cerning, 502. 

Chrysostom,  on  canonical  singers,  338;  on 
Christian  education,  507  f. 

Church,  symbolized  by  Noah's  ark,  93; 
an  organism,  197,  360;  New  Testament 
idea  of,  359  f ;  a  kingdom,  359 ;  the  body  of 
Christ,  360;  a  temple,  360;  the  Bride,  360; 
names  of  members  of,  360  f;  believers,  361 : 
brethren,  361;  a  fellowship,  363;  officers 
of,  365;  first  organization  of,  369;  each  con- 
gregation independent,  371  ff ;  general  con- 
clusions respecting,  377  f ;  government  of, 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


603 


386 ;  priesthood  of  the  entire,  395 ;  a  divine 
state,  398;  government  of,  a  development, 
398;  readmission  to,  418;  relations  of,  to 
slavery,  470  £E;  relations  of,  to  civil  gov- 
ernment, 470;  encouraged  labor,  477  f. 

Church  constitution,  influence  of  Gnostics 
on,  391;  apostolic  teaching  respecting, 
391  f;  Iren:eus's  principle  of,  392tf;  Cyp- 
rian's teaching,  390  ff. 

Church  discipline,  design  of,  410;  incurred 
no  loss  of  civil  rights,  417 ;  relation  of,  to 
the  ta^jsi,  419;  decline  of  penitential,  420; 
readmission  to  Church  by,  420;  stages  of, 
421 ;  no  merit  in,  421 ;  of  the  clergy,  421. 

Church  government,  repubhcan  type  of 
early,  374;  influence  of  destruction  of  Je- 
rusalem on,  381  f;  a  congregational  epis- 
copacy, 388. 

Church  letters,  church  unity  promoted  by, 
386. 

Churches,  many  destroyed,  35;  traces  of,  in 
Egypt,  36;  appropriation  of  pagan  ele- 
ments in,  62,  215 ;  ni  private  houses,  177 ; 
temples  changed  to,  216 ;  ruined  near  Car- 
thage, 229;  in  Egypt,  229  f. 

Churches  of  Syria,  230  ff ;  ceilings  of,  231. 

Circular  style,  Domed,  237. 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  31,  53;  opinion  on 
Orpheus,  64 ;  hymns  of,  314 ;  epistles  of,  22  n. 

Clement  of  Rome,  on  episcopacy,  380. 

Clementines,  on  episcopacy,  384  f. 

Clergy,  priesthood  of,  397;  sub-orders  of, 
411. 

Collegium,  meaning  and  objects  of,  558;  for 
burial  purposes,  559. 

Columbarium,  meaning  of,  559  f;  arrange- 
ment of,  559. 

Commodianus,  hymns  of,  319. 

Communion,  what.  468 ;  infant,  468,  470. 

Compluvium,  use  of,  185 ;  how  guarded,  185. 

Couder,  (juoted,  39  n. 

Constantine,  keen  discernment  of,  27;  na- 
ture of  his  vision,  86  n ;  great  influence  of, 
86;  statesmanlike  qualities  of,  214;  dona- 
tions of  churches,  214;  luxurious  reign  of, 
221;  rescript  of,  respecting  Lord's  day, 
491. 

Constautinian  monogram,  forms  of,  86;  on 
the  Roman  standards,  86 ;  on  coins,  87. 

Constantinople,  motives  for  founding,  247  f ; 
syncretism  of  pagan  and  Christian  ele- 
ments in,  248 ;  art  treasures  of,  248,  509. 

Cousin,  quoted,  356  n. 

Creeds,  simplicity  of  early,  459. 

Crooks  &  Hurst,  quoted,  19  n. 

Cross,  wide  diffusion  of,  83;  power  of,  83  f; 
widely  recognized  by  early  Christians,  84 ; 
Indian  derivation  of,  doubtful,  84;  Char- 
nay's  remark  on,  83  n ;  forms  of,  86 ;  legend 
of  flnding  the  true,  87 ;  the  patibnlary.  88. 

Cruciflxion  of  Christ,  the  earliest  art  repre- 
sentation of,  152. 

Cruciform,  see  Domed. 

Cubiculum,  in  Roman  house,  184;  in  catar 
combs,  519. 

Cunningham,  on  transubstantiation,  470  n. 

Cupid  and  Psyche,  on  Christian  monuments, 
62. 

CuriEe,  influence  on  Christian  architecture, 
185. 

Cyprian,  31;  on  Church  constitution  and 
government,  394  f;  on  ordination.  396;  on 
sacraments,  425:  on  clinic  baptism,  436; 
on  sacrificial  character  of  Lord's  Sup- 
per, 468  f;  on  infant  communion,  466;  on 
drama  and  shows,  528  f;  on  education 
550. 

Damasus,  inscriptions  of,  290;    hymns  of, 

321. 
Daniel,  314,  315,  317  n,  323  n. 
39 


Deaconesses,  institution  of,  369;  qualiflca- 
tions  of,  405;  ordniation  of,  406;  duties  of, 
406,  431  f. 

Deacons,  first  institution  of,  367;  qualifica- 
tions of,  .S68;  lren;eus  on,  368;  peculiarly 
Christian  character  of,  369  f ;  preaching  of, 
370;  duties  of,  not  sharply  defined,  379;  in 
post-apostolic  Church.  380;  change  in 
function  of,  404;  eligibility  of,  405;  seven 
continued,  406. 

Decaltinuc.  influence  of,  on  art  cultivation, 
4.>:  liintlerance  of,  to  art,  45. 

Dehio,  178. 

Delattre,  32. 

De  Sola,  on  Hebrew  music,  332. 

Dexter,  314  n. 

Diis  Manibus,  conclusions  respecting,  275. 

Diocletian,  of  edict  for  persecution,  32; 
destruction  of  monuments  by,  34. 

Diptychs,  Barberini  mentioned,  60 ;  in  ivory, 
162 ;  consular,  importance  of,  162 ;  uses  of, 
162  f. 

Disciples,  the  Iamb,  sheep,  and  fish,  symbol 
of,  91  f. 

Divorce,  Scripture  ground  of,  507;  Justin 
Martyr's  opinion  of,  509;  frequency  of, 
among  the  Romans,  46  f. 

Domed  style,  diftusion  of,  235;  origin  of,  236; 
resembled  Roman  baptisteries,  236;  was  it 
indigenous  to  the  West,  237;  principles  of 
classification,  238  f;  not  a  slavish  imita- 
tion, 240 ;  circular  style  of,  262  ff ;  cruciform 
style  of,  264  ff . 

Door-keepers  duties  of,  412. 

Dormit,  significance  of,  289. 

Dove,  a  Christian  symbol  of  Innocenoe  and 
peace,  92,  285;  sometimes  used  as  a  means 
of  decoration,  92;  chronology  of  monu- 
ments containing,  92. 

Doxologies,  specimens  of,  .330. 

Drama,  low  condition  of  Roman,  527;  of 
Eastern,  527:  actors  in,  under  legal  dis- 
abilities. 527  f;  Tertullian's  opinion  of,  528; 
Cyprian*s  opinion  of,  528  f;  conciliary  de- 
cisions respecting,  529;  severe  discipline 
of  Church  respecting,  529;  actors  in,  ex- 
cluded from  the  Church,  529. 

Dupin,  285. 

Easter,  connection  with  passover,  498;  time 
of  celebration  of,  498 ;  disputes  respecting, 
498  f ;  opinion  of  Jewish  party  respecting, 
498  f;  of  Roman  party,  499;  attempts  to 
reconcile  differences,  499 ;  conciliary  de- 
cisions respecting,  500;  rule  for  celebra- 
tion of.  500;  different  cycles,  500  f;  three 
periods  of  the  controversy  concerning,  501 
n;  ceremonies  of,  501;  two  parts  of  the 
celebration  of,  50i ;  manner  of  observance 
of,  501 ;  acts  of  clemency  connected  with, 
502. 

Eastern  Church,  decline  of  music  in,  354. 

Eecli'siastical  divisions,  explanations  of, 
407  If ;  followed  the  political,  408. 

Education,  of  apostles  difficult  to  determine, 
546;  Jewish  care  for,  546  f:  influence  of 
the  law  upon.  547;  of  the  synagogue,  547; 
Paul's  view  of,  547;  illustrated  by  charac- 
ter of  apostolic  writings,  54s  f ;  by  charac- 
ter of  the  family,  549:  (leeliniug  condition 
in  the  West,  549  f;  Tertullian's  views  of, 
550;  influence  of  the  catechumeuate  upon, 
551;  influence  of  Greek  thought  on  Chris- 
tian, 551;  influence  of  Alexandria  upon, 
551  f;  Christian  theory  of,  553;  Chrysos- 
tom's  advice  respecting,  553  f;  more  kindly 
feeling  toward  pagan  culture,  553;  Julian's 
influence  on,  553;  Basil's  teaching  on,  553; 
Jerome's  views  on,  554  f ;  effects  of  bar- 
barian invasions  on,  555;  in  the  Eastern 
Church,  555. 


604 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Et;"pti;uis,  Riotosqueness  of  art  of,  101. 

Ei-1^aiali,  cluirclies  of,  233. 

Elijah,  translation  of,  in  .sculi)ture,  145  f. 

Kphracm  Syius,  hynius  of,  312  f;  homilies 
of,  (i\lot('(l,  312  n. 

Epigraphy,  tlflinitioa  of,  207. 

Ejiiphany,  feast  of,  502;  when  observed, 
.",112;  coiiinicnKirates  wliat,  502. 

Episi^opacy.  James's  relation  to,  3G9;  Igna- 
tius on,  380  f ;  of  the  Clementines  on,  382  f ; 
Hennas  on,  383;  I'dlycarp  on,  384;  a  de- 
velopment, 387;  IxM-omes  general,  394; 
theories  of  origin  of,  399  ft. 

Eras,  272. 

Eneharist,  see  Lord's  Supper ;  symbohzed  by 
the  'Ix^vc  81  ff. 

Eudo.xia,  Empress,  hymns  of,  316. 

Eusebins,  on  Lord's  day,  490. 

Euthirains,  hymns  of,  311. 

EwaUl.  333  n. 

Excommunication,  greater  and  lesser,  417; 
notice  given  of,  418;  effects  of,  418;  appeal 
from  the  sentence  of,  418. 

Exorcists,  origin  and  functions  of,  412. 

Family,  a  type  of  the  Church,  507;  Christ's 
sanction  of,  507;  Paul's  teaching  respect- 
ing, 508 ;  teachings  of  the  Christian  fathers 
concerning,  508  ff;  two  threats  to  the, 
512  f ;  Koman  idea  of,  509 ;  decline  of  the 
life  of  under  the  empire,  509  f. 

Farrar,  on  Paul's  lack  of  art  sensibility,  50  n. 

Feasts  and  festivals,  biu-ial.  where  cele- 
brated, 181;  Easter,  498  ff;  Quinquages- 
ima,  502;  Quadragesima,  502;  Pentecost, 
502;  Epiphany,  503;  Christmas,  502  f ;  mul- 
tiiilicity  of,  503  f. 

Ficker,  on  Abercius  inscription,  305. 

Fish,  a  symbol  of  Christ,  71-83;  of  the  disci- 
ples, 92. 

Formative  arts,  principles  governing,  47; 
grotesqueness  of  Jewish,  48. 

Fossores,  who,  566;  modes  of  working  and 
duties  of,  566. 

Frescos,  eucharistic,  at  Alexandria,  82; 
teaching  of,  respecting  baptism,  437  ff. 

Friedlander,  328  n,  549  n. 

Galerius,  his  edict  of  toleration,  34. 

(ialla  I'laridia,  126,264,  265. 

Garrucei,  118,  125,  166. 

Garucci,  18  n.  440  n,  443  n,  456  n. 

Genii,  opinion  of  Christian  fathers  concern- 
ing, 69;  how  far  used  for  decorative 
purposes  In  Christian  art,  70. 

Gibbon,  323. 

Glyptic  art,  utility  of,  1G8. 

(^nostiejsm,  illustrated  by  abraxas  gems,  21. 

Goethe,  :;42  n. 

G(ii)(l  Shepherd,  mistaken  for  Hermes-Kri- 
oiihoros,  61;  differences  between,  53; 
associated  with  Amor  and  Psyche,  69;  a 
symbol  of  protection  among  pastoral  peo- 
ples, 90;  not  necessarily  derived,  91;  asso- 
ciated with  (ithei-  Christian  symbols,  91; 
with  swastika.  111 ;  statues  of,  140  ff ;  com- 
liared  with  Herines-Kriophoros,  141;  con- 
nected with  inscriptions,  278  f. 

Gothic  arcliitecture,  first  germs  of,  207;  the 
consununation  of  the  Christian basilica,208. 

(4rariiti,  fo\nul  on  Palatine  Hill,  94;  Becker's 
(•(inclusions  concerning,  94;  examples  of, 
298;  work  of  pilgrims, 298. 

Grapes,  synil)ol  of,  285. 

Greeks,  n'lythology  and  influence  of,  on  art 
culture,  49;  freedom  of  their  worship,  49; 
could  re|ireseiit  their  gods,  50;  their  ideal 
of  divine  perf(M'ti()n,  lui. 

Green  and  the  lied,  factions  of,  29. 

Greeven,  on  D.  M.,  275  n. 

Gregorutti,  442  n. 


Gregory  Nazianzen,  hymns  of,  315. 

Gregory  of  Tours,  171. 

Gregory  the  Great,  hymns  of,  330;  musical 

reforms  of,  344;    Antiphonarium  of,  348; 

advice  of,  against  trine  immersion,  460. 
Grimm,  W.,  322  n,  359. 
Grosvenor,  261. 
Grousset,  his  catalogue  of  Christian  sar 

cophagi  mentioned,  70  n;  of  sarcophagi 

containing  the  Good  Shepherd,  91  n. 
Guido  of  Arezzo,  353. 
Guilds,  burial,  special  privileges  of,  186. 

Harmonius,  measures  of,  312. 

Harnack,  on  baptism,  448. 

Hatfield,  J.  T.,  320  n. 

Hegesippus,  on  Gnostic  influence.  392. 

Helena,  traclitional  discovery  of  true  cross 
by,  87. 

Hemans,  remarks  of,  on  Mercury-Krioph- 
oros,  90  n. 

Hercules,  a  type  of  Christ,  64. 

Herder,  quoted,  307  n. 

Hilarius,  hymns  of,  320. 

Hilgenfeld,  30.5. 

Hii)p()lytus,  statue  of,  33;  its  chronology,  144. 

Hofling,  467  n. 

Holland,  quoted.  53  n. 

Hospitals,  rise  of,  499;  influence  of,  on 
Christian  charities,  499. 

Hijbner.  140. 

Hurst,  J.  F.,  454  n. 

Hymnology,  of  early  church,  306;  favorable 
conditions  for,  306;  growth  retarded  by 
danger  and  persecution,  307;  and  by  hesi- 
tation about  using  pagan  forms  of  art,  307 ; 
germs  of,  in  New  Testament,  307 ; "  psalm  " 
and  "ode,"  308;  probable  use  of,  in  second 
century,  308;  reasons  for  scant  informa- 
tion respectint;,  309;  councils  upon  use  of, 
309;  (ireek  fathers  favorable  to,  310;  rela- 
tively small  number  of  hymns,  311;  reason 
for,  311;  of  Syrian  Church,  312;  of  Greek 
Church,  315;  of  Western  Church,  318;  nar- 
rative and  lyric,  318  f;  improvement  under 
Constantinian  rule,  322;  influence  of 
Julian's  pohcy  on,  324. 

Idolatry,  trades  connected  with,  479  f. 

Ignatius,  epistles  of,  382n  f ;  on  episcopacy, 
381  f;  on  Lord's  Supper,  467;  on  Lord's 
day,  491. 

Illuminations,  reason  of,  116;  examples  of, 
117  f. 

Image  worship,  wars  over,  29. 

Immortality  suggested  in  inscriptions,  277, 
290. 

Imposition  of  hands  in  baptism,  461. 

In(lictions,  272. 

Industries  and  trades,  525. 

Infanticide,  frequency  of  among  the  Ro- 
mans, 464  f. 

Inscriptions,  unconscious  testimony  of ,  21 ; 
two  classes  of,  77;  late  origin  of  S.  Indian, 
85;  definition  of,  267;  early  use  of,  267; 
utility  of,  267  f;  nimiber  of,  268  f;  classes 
of.  269;  by  whom  prepared,  270;  forms  of 
writing  used  in,  270;  how  read,  270;  punc- 
tuation of,  270  f;  orthography  of,  270; 
chronology  of,  270  f;  fewness  of  dated, 
272  n ;  eras  used  in.  272 :  date  how  deter- 
mined, 273  f ;  subject  and  context  of,  274  ff ; 
carelessness  in  preparation  of,  293;  dog- 
matic character  of,  290 ;  indications  of  a 
belief  in  a  future  life  in,  290 ;  character  of 
Damasene,  293;  of  fourth  century,  294; 
aids  of,  to  history  illustrated,  300  f. 

Irenaius,  theory  of  the  Church,  391;  on 
Church  constitution,  392  f;  on  deacons, 
368;  on  mysteries,  426  n;  on  infant  bap- 
tism, 447. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


605 


Ivory,  carviugs  in,  162 ;  diptychs  of,  1G2. 
'l^Oiig  monuments,  chronology  of,  77;  inter- 
pretation of,  78fiE;  de  Kossi's  opinion  of, 

78. 

Jacob,  320  n,  325  n. 

Jahn,  13  n. 

James,  relation  of,  to  episcopacy,  371; 
Hegesippus  on.  372  n. 

Jerome,  on  lyre  and  flute,  307 ;  on  baptism, 
459;  on  Cliristian  education,  508. 

Jews,  excliisiveness  of,  42;  pastoral  life  of, 
unfavorable  to  art  culture.  42;  depressed 
condition  of,  43;  peculiarity  of  imagina- 
tion unfavorable  to  arts  of  form.  45,  46 ; 
monotheism  of,  not  promotive  of  formative 
art.  48  f;  lyi-ic  poetry  of,  48  u;  special 
privileges  of,  516. 

Jonah,  history  of.  in  sculpture,  147  f. 

Judaism  compared  with  Christianity  re- 
specting the  priesthood.  7i)  u. 

Judgment,  last,  seldom  found  in  early  art, 
161. 

Julian,  attempt  of,  to  restore  heathenism, 
37;  influence  of  policy  of,  on  Christian 
poetry,  323;  influence  of,  ou  Christian 
education,  507. 

Junius  Bassus,  sarcophagus  of,  60, 152,  1.54; 
casts  of .  152  n;  subjects  of,  153,154;  bap- 
tismal scene  in,  145. 

Justin  Martyr,  on  music  of  Eastern  Church, 
335;  on  the  Lord's  Supper,  465;  on  pubUc 
worship,  480  f ;  ou  Lord's  day,  493  f. 

Justinian,  170  ff,  250,  252,  253,  258. 

Juveucus,  hymns  of,  320. 

Kalat  Sem'an,  church  and  convent  of,  234  f. 

Kaltenbrunner,  his  three  periods  of  the 
Easter  controversy,  455  n. 

Kartum,  316  n. 

Kayser,  454. 

Keary,  similarity  of  use  does  not  imply  de- 
pendence, 90  n. 

Kherbet-Hass,  234. 

Kraus,  14  n. 

Kreuser,  opinion  of,  respecting  the  Christian 
basilica,  175  n. 

Kugler,  225. 

Labarte,  125. 

Labor,  encouragement  of,  by  Church,  523; 

monumental  evidence  respecting,  523  f. 
Lactantius,  hymns  of,  319. 
Laity,  limitation  of  rights  of,  403 ;  decline  of 

inilneuce  in  councils,  413. 
Lamb,  a  symbol  of  Christ,  76 ;  forbidden  by 

Trullan  Council,  77. 
Lamps,  materials  of,  168;  symbols  upon,  168; 

artistic  in  form,  168. 
Lanciani,  172,  564. 

Lange.  J.  P.,  on  the  "  Seven,"  370  n. 
Lange,  K.,  178, 196. 

Laodicean  Council,  on  Church  music,  337. 
Lazarus,  raising  of.  in  art,  99  f.  148,  279. 
Le  Blant,  on  uiunbcr  of  inscriptions.  272  u. 
Libertns,  iufr»^qiiently  met,  476. 
Lightfoot,  J.  B.,  on  origin  of  sacerdotalism, 

398. 
Lights  by  the  altar,  282. 
Lion,  symbol  of,  285. 

Liturgies,  occasion  of  growth  of,  484;  con- 
nection of  penitential  system  with.  484; 

modifications  of,  485;  classification  of.  485; 

two  parts  of.  486;  of  St.  ('lenient,  isij;   of 

St.  James,  487;    branches  of.  4s7:  of  St. 

Mark,  487;  the  Western.  487  f ;  the  jihiloso- 

phy  of.  488;  central  thought  in  Greek,  488; 

central   thought   in    Latin,   489;   idea  in 

Protestant,  489  n. 
Lloyd.  Rhys  P.,  430  n,  431  n. 
Loculi,  defined,  56;  number  of,  517. 


Logia,  22  n. 

Lombards,  destruction  of,  29. 

Lord's  day,  eucharist  celebrated  on,  490; 
reason  for  observing,  490,  492 ;  relation  of. 
to  Jewish  Sabbath,  490  f;  no  enactment 
concerning,  491;  Barry  on.  491;  imperial 
provisions  concerning.  491  f;  New  Testa- 
ment idea  of,  493;  Constuntine's  rescript 
concerning,  491;  Justin's  opinion  of,  493  f; 
Tertulhan's  view  of,  4;i4;  provisions  for 
observance  of,  494  f;  impossibility  of  lit- 
eral observance  of,  495;  ground  of  sanc- 
tion, 495  f ;  Wnttke  on,  495  f  n ;  why  legally 
sanctioned,  496;  the  Christian  emperors 
had  no  reference  to  Mosaic  law,  496  f: 
legal  supplanting  the  moral  sanction  of 
497. 

Lord's  Supper,  symbolized  by  'IX9T2, 81  £E 
symbolic,  462;  a  memorial,  462;  when  cele 
brated,  462;  likeness  toother  feasts,  462. 
character  of,  463 ;  celebrants  of,  463 ;  modes 
of  celebration  of,  463;  connected  with  the 
agape,  464;  simplicity  of  early  observance 
of,  464;  "The  Teaching"  on,  464;  Justin 
Martyr's  account  of,  465;  Tertulli an' s  ac- 
count of,  465;  ante-Nicene  order  of,  465; 
liturgical  forms  in,  466;  theory  of  opera- 
tion of,  467  ff ;  how  far  a  sacrifice.  407  f ; 
three  views  of,  469;  teaching  of  the  litur- 
gies respecting,  not  uniform,  469 ;  obliga- 
tions of,  470;  where  celebrated,  471 ;  order 
of,  471 ;  in  one  kind,  471 ;  frequency  of,  471 ; 
no  elevation  of  host  in,  472;  magnified  by 
the  fathers.  472. 

Lotze,  on  Hebrew  lyric  poetry,  48  n. 

Luminarium,  meaning  and  uses  of,  566. 

Macrobius,  344. 

Magdeburg  centuriators,  15. 

Magi,  on  moniunents,  278. 

Maimbourg,  on  Gregory,  quoted,  567. 

Mallet,  14  n. 

Malta,  catacombs  of,  36. 

Manuscripts,  illuminated,  40. 

Mariott,  quoted  on  subject  of  early  frescos, 
110  n. 

Marriage,  sacredness  of,  508  f;  Church  had 
oversight  of,  512;  Pauline  doctrine  re- 
specting, 512. 

Martignan,  64  n. 

Martyrs,  number  of.  294. 

Mathias  Flacius,  15  n. 

McGiffert.  454n. 

Menas,  St.,  of  Egypt,  166. 

Merivale.  310. 

Messmer.  177. 

Military  life,  aversion  to,  in  early  Church, 
530;  tainted  with  idolatry,  530;  Tertullian 
on,  530;  decadence  of  Komau,  531;  milder 
views  later  held,  531;  relation  of  clergy  to, 
532;  monumental  evidence  respecting, 
532  f. 

Milman,  mistake  respecting  Solomon's  tem- 
ple, 47  n ;  quoted,  355  n. 

Miniatures,  examples  of,  117  f. 

Mohammedans,  iconoclasm  of,  29. 

Monasticism,  philosophy  of,  514;  its  two 
principles,  514;  evils  of,  514  f. 

Monuments,  fewness  of.  28;  where  best 
preserved,  28;  causes  of  destruction  of, 
28  f;  of  first  century,  29  f;  of  second  cen- 
tury, .30  f;  third  century,  31  f;  fourth  cen- 
tury, 34  ft' ;  fifth  century,  36  if ;  sixth  cen- 
tury, 39  f ;  numerous  in.  41. 

Mosaics,  classification  of,  119  f;  in  antiquity, 
120:  kinds  of.  120;  limited  use  in  cata^ 
combs,  120;  three  types  of,  121;  uses  of, 
121;  restorations  of,  121;  location  of,  121; 
chronology  of,  121  f;  style  of,  122;  exam- 
ples of.  123  ff;  seriousness  of  later,  123  f; 
transition  in  style  of,  124;  of  Rome,  122  ff; 


600 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


of  Tliossalonioa,  121;  of  Kavenna,  126  ff; 
(il  ('(iiistaiilinoplc.  131  ff. 

MotlifS,  (iiiotcd,  17;ni. 

Mueller,  Nikolaus,  301,  302,  304  n,  442,  472. 

Miiiiter,  on  hyuiii  service,  309. 

Miiiitz,  on  mosaics  of  Santa  Constanzia, 
V2^i  u. 

Muratori,  323  n. 

Music,  early  Christian,  332;  no  tune  of  the 
first  two  centuries  in  existence,  332;  prob- 
able adoption  ol  existing  Jewish  forms, 
333  f;  testimony  of  Tliny  respecting,  335; 
of  Justin,  Tertulliau,  Origen,  and  Eusebi- 
us.  3or>;  (irif:;iual  stvle  the  I'liant.  3:55 ;  time 
when  Christian  Church  liei;an  a  composi- 
tion of  its  own,  uncertain,  330;  first  re- 
corded attempts,  337;  action  of  councils 
respecting,  337 ;  Council  of  Laodicea  and 
the  KuvoviKol  ipaAral,  337 ;  diverse  inter- 
pretation of  this  action,  337  f;  Basil's 
service  of  song,  .338;  Chrysostom's,  338; 
Syrian  modes  juobably  iirevalent  in  East 
and  West,  ■■;::s;  Aiiilirosiaii  reforms  of, 339; 
developiiieiit  ol,  under  iiiii)roved  condi- 
tions of  Church  life,  339;  luusieal  notation 
among  the  Greeks  and  Itoinaus.  :!41;  har- 
monic arrangement  first  developed  by 
Christianity,  "342;  Ambrosian  notation. 
349;  reforms  of,  under  (iregory  the  Great, 
350;  his  Autiphoiiarium,  354;  the  numiie, 
.354;  later  modilications  of  Gregorian  sys- 
tem of,  35G;  decline  of.  in  Ea.stern  Church, 
356. 

Mystery,  confounded  with  sacrament,  425. 

Mythologic  element  in  sculpture,  147. 

Neale,  J.  j\I.,  31C,  317  n,  318  n,  321  n,  330  n. 

Neander,  (pioted,  54  n ;  on  canonical  sing- 
ers, 3.37. 

Neo-Platonism,  iufluonce  of,  16. 

Nounus  of  TaiKiiiolis,  hviiiiis  of,  316. 

Nortlietite  and  I'.rciw  iilow,  (luoted,  152  n. 

Notation.  Ambrosian,  authentic,  and.  Gre- 
gorian I'lajial,  .■;45. 

NuuKe,  of  aiieieiit  nuisic  not  capable  of  in- 
terpretation, ;i4s. 

Numismatics,  service  of,  37 ;  a  special  sci- 
ence, 168. 

Oblation,  what,  465;  by  the  whole  Church, 
466. 

Olympia,  Christian  remains  at,  39. 

Optatus.  181,  196. 

Grants,  meaning  of.  108;  on  inscribed  monu- 
ments, 278,  2S2,  .301,  304. 

Ordination,  Cyprian's  view  of,  396;  in  the 
Apostolic  Constitutions,  400. 

Origen,  31 ;  on  the  music  of  the  Alexandrian 
Church,  335 ;  on  baptism,  448. 

Orpheus,  a  type  of  Christ,  64;  as  antitype, 
64. 

Otte,  on  symbolical  character  of  Christian 
art,  73  n. 

Pagans,  externality  of  their  religion,  49; 
defects  of  their  charities,  535  ff. 

Painting,  Christian,  earliest  in  catacombs, 
97;  chiefly  decorative,  97;  similar  to  hea- 
then, 97;  how  painted,  98;  subjects  of, 
peculiar,  98,  lOO;  principle  of  balancing  in, 
98;  in  Santa  Cecilia,  104,  112;  transitions 
in,  110  f;  on  gilt  glasses,  113;  fewness  of, 

113. 

Palimpsest.  298. 

Palm  branch,  a  symbol  of  triumph,  286. 
Palm  tree,  symbol  of  paradise,  93. 
Palmer,  :i'_'i  h. 
Piippa.  sitiiiilication  of,  294. 
Paradise,  indi('ated  symbolically,  278. 
Parker,  J.   II.,   authority  of,   on  painting, 
30  n. 


Pastor,  terms  for,  294. 

Patriarchs,  when  originated,  411 ;  duties  of, 
411. 

Paul.  St.,  want  of  susceptibility  to  art,  50  f; 
representations  on  gilt  glasses,  114;  asso- 
ciations with  Peter,  114. 

Paul  Silentiarius,  hymns  of,  316. 

Paulinus  of  Nola,  poems  of,  324 ;  theory  of 
poetry  of,  290,  324. 

Pausanius,  39. 

Peacock,  symbol  of  immortality,  93. 

Penitents,  orders  of,  419  f. 

Pentecost,  meaning  of,  502;  mode  of  observ- 
ance of,  502. 

Perate,  Andre,  13  n. 

Peter,  Gospel  and  Apocalypse  of,  22  n. 

Peter,  representation  of,  on  gilt  glasses,  113 
f ;  no  primacy  of,  intimated,  114. 

Phenix,  on  coins  of  Christian  emperors,  67; 
used  by  the  Christian  fathers,  70 ;  symbol 
of  resurrection,  71,  93. 

Piper,  17  n,  63  n,  75  n,  314  n. 

Pixes.  in  ivory,  166;  uses  of.  166. 

Pliny,  on  singing  of  early  Cliristians,  335. 

Poetry,  Greelc  and  Hebrew,  contrasted,  48; 
Christian,  see  Hymnology. 

Polycarp,  on  episcopacy,  386. 

Pondi  d'oro,  how  made,  113. 

Prayer,  attitude  in,  as  found  on  monuments, 
1.55. 

Presbyters,  common  to  Jewish  and  Gentile 
societies,  372;  a  council,  372;  officers  of 
administration,  373;  a  deliberative  body, 
374;  Scriptui-e  account  of ,  375 ;  in  Gentile 
churches,  375  f;  identical  with  bishops, 
376;  why  two  terms,  378;  duties  of,  not 
sharply  defined,  380;  decline  of,  in  power, 
391 ;  change  in  functions  of,  404 ;  peniten- 
tial, 420. 

Priests,  not  recognized  by  apostolic  Church, 
387. 

Primates,  origin  of,  410;  how  appointed, 
410 ;  functions  of,  410. 

Proanaphora,  486. 

Property,  in  Roman  empire,  537  f. 

Prudentius,  hymns  of,  327. 

Psalter,  use  of,  in  early  Church,  .307. 

Quadragesima,  502. 
Quast,  225. 
Quinquagesima,  502. 

Rambach,  quoted,  308  n,  310,  314  n,  315, 327  n. 

Ramsay,  305. 

Ravenna,  churches  of,  38;  a  middle  ground, 

220;  simjilicdty  of  its  churches,  224  f ;  four 

periods  of  architecture  in,  225. 
Readers,  duties  of,  412. 
Reber,  quoted,  355  n. 
Reusens,  divisions  of  archaeology,  15  n. 
Richter,  196  n. 

Roller, on  symbolism, quoted,  72  n,  75  n,  140  n. 
Roman  house,  arrangement  of,  182  f ;  influ- 

eni'e  of,  on  earlv  Christian  architecture, 

182;  how  lit;hte(l,"l85. 
Rome,  liisbo)!  of,  :v.m. 
de  Rossi,  school  of  symbolism,  75  n;  quoted, 

190;  on  number  of  Christian  inscrijjtions, 

268  n,  269,  272  n,  285,  289,  523  n ;  on  slavery, 

521  f. 
Rufinus,  reference  of,  to  the  phenix,  71. 

Sacerdotalism,  rise  of,  387;  growth  of,  397; 

origin  of,  398  ff. 
Sacraments,    meaning    of,    indefinite,  425; 

number  of,  not  determined,  425. 
Sacrifice,  in  Lord's  Supper,  468. 
Salzenberg,  316  n. 
St.  Sophia.  Church  of,  originality  of,  251 ;  dif- 

fi(nilty    of  construction    of,  251;    present 

condition  of,  252;  vast  preparations  for 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


607 


building  of,  253;  injury  of,  254;  description 
of,  254;  dimensions  ot,  254;  dome  support 
in,  257;  lighting  of,  257;  decorations  of, 
258 ;  arrangement  of,  259. 

San  Apollinare,  in  Classe,  225  ff. 

San  Vitale,  description  of,  243  fl ;  mosaics  of, 
lost,  244;  contrast  with  Roman  basilica, 
246. 

Sarcophagi,  preference  for,  144;  slight  orig- 
inality of,  144;  subjects  of,  145, 150;  deco- 
rative and  symbolic  principle  in,  145. 

Savonarola,  139  n. 

Schaff,  314  n,  315  n,  327  n,  329  n. 

Schletterer,  307  n. 

Schnaase,  quoted,  194  n,  197  n. 

Scholte,  influence  of,  on  Christian  architec- 
ture, 178, 180;  examples  of,  186  f. 

Schools,  see  Education,  Culture,  Teaching; 
secular  under  the  empire,  549;  TertuUian's 
vie  vk's  of  heathen,  550 ;  of  Alexandria,  551  f ; 
catechuiuenical,  551 ;  of  Autioch,  552  f. 

Schultze,  13  n,  14  n,  35,  38,  108  u. 

Schultze,  Victor,  75  n. 

Sculpture,  in  pagan  cultus,  139 ;  sensuousness 
of,  139;  decadence  of,  139;  architectural 
principle  in,  144;  balancing  of  parts  in, 
144;  Scripture  subject  of,  150. 

Serpent,  a  symbol  of  wisdom,  or  of  healing, 
93. 

Sexes,  separated  in  ancient  Church,  204. 

Sheep,  symbol  of  disciples  of  Christ,  92. 

Ship,  symbol  of  the  Church,  93,  285. 

Sibylline  Oracles,  reference  of,  to  the  'I/t^i'f, 
80;  nature  of,  80  n. 

Smgers,  duties  of,  412. 

Sins,  venial  and  mortal,  417. 

Slavery,  a  fixed  institution  in  Roman  empire, 
516  f;  no  attempt  at  iinnicdiate  abolition 
of  by  Church,  517;  eniaucipution  eiicour- 
ageci  by  Church,  518;  Uhlhorn's  opinion 
concerniugj  518 ;  Stoical  teachings  respect- 
ing, 519;  slight  amehoration  of,  in  second 
and  third  centuries,  519;  moral  type  of 
Christianity  unfavorable  to,  519;  simplicity 
of  Church  opposed  to,  520 ;  in  United  States, 
521  n;  testimony  of  monuments  respects 
ing,  522  f;  de  Rossi  on,  522  f  ;  relations  of 
labor  to,  524;  inscriptions  relating  to,  524  f. 

Slaves,  condition  of,  under  Roman  govern- 
ment, 516  f;  care  of  Church  for,  518;  eligi- 
bility of,to  office,  520 ;  equality  of,  in  burial, 
521;  fewness  of  names  of,  on  Christian 
monumeuts,  523. 

Smith,  W.  Robertson,  on  the  principle  of  the 
second  commandment,  45  n. 

Soldiers,  see  Military  life. 

Sophronius,  hymns  of,  314. 

Sponsors,  duty  of,  459. 

Stanley,  opinion  of,  on  Solomon's  temple, 
47  n. 

Statues,  of  Christ  symbolic  140;  testimonies 
respecting,  140;  conforiii  to  pagan  morals, 
141;  of  Good  Sht'idierd  and  Ifennes-Kri- 
ophoros  compared,  141;  of  Hippolytus, 
142;  fewness  of,  14G. 

Stevens,  on  the  value  of  rude  dialects,  22  n. 

StrzygDWSki.  440  n,  447  n,  453  n. 

Sunday,  see  Lortl's  day. 

Supernatural  relii;ion,  author  of,  quoted,59n. 

Swastiea,  a  Buddhistic  symbol,  84. 

Symbolism,  in  Christian  art,  55, 72 ;  transition 
from,  to  hteral  representation,  55;  not  oc- 
casioned by  desire  for  concealment,  55; 
definition  of  symbol,  72;  used  by  Christ  in 
teaching,  72 ;  not  arbitrary.  73 ;  how  inter- 
preted, 72,  73;  two  schools  of  interpreta- 
tion of,  74  f ;  in  painting  of  later  origin, 
98 ;  in  Junius  Bassus  sarcophagus.  159. 

Symbols,  the  flsh,  77  f;  the  cross  and  cruci- 
fix, 83  f;  the  vine,  89;  the  dove,  91;  the 
sheep  and  lambs,  92 ;  the  ship,  93 ;  the  an- 


chor, 93 ;  the  palm  tree,  93 ;  the  crown, 
lyre,  phenix,  serpent,  93;  commingling  of, 
281;  the  grapes,  283;  the  lion,  283;  the  ark, 
283 ;  the  palm  branch,  284. 

Synesius,  hymns  of,  315. 

Synods,  analogous  to  civil  councils,  413; 
provincial,  413;  metropolitan,  414;  oecu- 
menical, 414;  by  whom  assembled,  414; 
by  whom  presided  over,  414  f ;  subjects 
considered  by,  415 ;  method  of  voting  in, 
415j  decisions  of,  how  enforced,  415 ;  de- 
cisions of,  how  far  binding,  415. 

Syria,  churches  of,  38,  230;  generous  life  in, 
231 ;  destitute  of  mosaics,  235. 

Tabernacle,  furniture  of,  dictated,  44;  artis- 
tic character  of,  44 ;  animal  and  vegetable 
forms  allowed  in,  44. 

Tatian,  22  n. 

Teaching, see  Education;  Paul's estimateof, 
547f;  a  charism,  548;  Chi-ist's  method  of, 
548. 

"  Teaching  of  the  Twelve,"  on  apostles, 
366  n;  importance  of,  431;  chronology  of, 
431  n;  statements  of,  concerning  baptism, 
452;  on  trine  baptism,  459;  on  the  Lord's 
Supper,  464 ;  on  public  worship,  479. 

Temple,  Jewish,  site  of,  sacred,  44. 

Tertullian,  on  number  of  the  Christians,  26 ; 
opposition  to  image  makers,  53;  on  the 
caricatures  of  Christ,  94  f;  hymns  ascribed 
to,  318 ;  on  music  of  early  African  Church, 
335 ;  on  baptism,  432, 434 ;  on  unction,  435 ; 
on  Lord's  Supper,  465;  on  public  worship, 
482 ;  on  Lord's  day,  494 ;  on  trades,  528  f ;  on 
shows,  528;  on  idolatry,  528;  on  heathen 
schools,  550. 

Teuffel,  319,  320,  328,  329  n. 

Thayer,  359. 

Theater,  see  Drama. 

Theodoric,  influence  of,  on  architecture, 
226. 

Theodosius,  170,  171. 

Tillemont,  305. 

Tobler,  557. 

Tombs,  three  kinds  of,  among  the  Jews, 
557;  ornamentation  of  Jewish,  557;  leading 
thought  of,  among  the  Greeks,  558;  bound- 
aries of,  carefully  defined,  559;  sanctity 
of,  559 ;  publicity  of,  in  Roman  towns,  560"; 
at  Pompeii,  560;  gorgeousness  ofj  560; 
Roman  idea  of,  560;  single  found  in  the 
East,  567 ;  in  Syria,  567. 

Tourmauiu,  church  of,  233. 

Trades,  trying  position  of  Christians  respect- 
ing, 525;  certain  ones  condemned,  525  f; 
TertuUian's  opinion  of ,  526  f;  Apostolic 
Constitutions  respecting,  526. 

Tradition,  Cyprian's  view  of,  395. 

Transept,  significance  of,  187  f. 

Tricliniiun.  influence  on  early  Christian 
architecture,  177. 

Triumphal  arch,  how  important,  206. 

Types,  heathen  gods  and  heroes  used  as, 
61, 63  f;  two,  of  Christ,  100;  the  earlier,  the 
product  of  Greek  influence,  100. 

Uhlhorn,  on  heathen  guilds,  55  n,  310.  322. 

Ultzen,  321  n. 

Unction,  what,  435;  two  are  met,  435. 

Verantius  Fortunatus,  hymns  of,  329. 

"Vestibule,  explained,  203. 

Victory,  statue  of,  set  up  by  Augustus,  66; 
on  the  early  coins,  67. 

Vine,  symbolic  of  Christ  and  disciples,  89; 
not  necessarily  borrowed  from  paganism, 
89. 

Virgin  Mary,  no  portrait  of,  108;  never  sym- 
bolically represented,  108;  examples  of 
frescos  of,  108  ff. 


608 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Vitruvius,  173,  177,  182.  191,  237. 
(le  Vogue,  on  Syrian  churche!*,230  f ;  quoted, 
220,  221,  222. 

Wackeruagle,  318  n,  327  n,  330. 

Warfteld,  453  n. 

Weizsacker,  ou  presbyters  and  bishops, 
:i77  n. 

Whitsitt,  immersion  in  America,  454. 

Whitsunday,  502. 

Wilkie,  359. 

Wilpert,  75, 108  n,  301. 

Woltmann,  on  seriousness  of  the  later  mo- 
saics, 124;  quoted,  125. 

Woman,  position  of,  among  the  Eomans, 
509. 


Worship,  places  of,  179;  suggestions  of  lit- 
urgy in  early,  470;  Jewish  iuHuences  in, 
47t>;  spirituality  of,  in  early  Church,  476; 
forms  of,  dilferent  in  difEerent  churches, 
478;  independent  forms  of,  in  Gentile 
churches,  479;  "The  Teaching"  on,  479; 
heathen  notices  of,  480;  Justin  Martyr's 
account  of,  480  f;  order  of  service  in,  481; 
Tertullian's  statements  concerning,  482; 
in  third  century,  482;  Cyprian  on,  482  f; 
Augustine  on,  483. 

Zandonati,  302. 

Zestermann,  theory   of,  on   the   origin  of 

basilica,  174;  classification  of,  175. 
Zockler,  quoted,  83  u. 


